More than 70 per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have experienced hate crime during the past five years.

The statistic was revealed in a study of Brighton and Hove's LGBT community, called Count Me In Too.

It revealed that of the 73 per cent of those who had experienced hate crime, only a quarter reported it.

Only 55 per cent went to the police, while seven per cent contacted Brighton and Hove City Council's community safety team.

Of those who did report attacks, 43 per cent said the response was good and 32 per cent described it as poor.

Project researcher Dr Kath Browne said: "Ongoing issues of harassment can have serious implications for mental health and wellbeing among LGBT people.

"This can be exacerbated by neighbourhood-based hate crime."

Fear of hate crime has further implications for the quality of life of LGBT people, with 73 per cent avoiding public displays of affection because of safety concerns.

Just under 30 per cent said they sometimes or always avoid going out at night.

Young LGBT people were more likely to have experienced hate crime, while older members were more likely to be fearful and use avoidance tactics to stay safe.

More than 50 per cent of those living in the city for more than five years said the police response to hate crime had improved.

Chief Superintendent Paul Pearce, of Brighton and Hove police, said: "It is encouraging that the majority of people surveyed felt the police had improved during the past five years.

"But there are still opportunities for improvement.

"We will continue to strive to make LGBT people feel safer by listening to their concerns and working with them to develop the service we provide."

City council leader Brian Oxley added: "Clearly we have more work to do to encourage people to come forward and report incidents.

"We will be working hard during the coming year to learn what remedies are available to bring offenders to justice and make it clear that homophobia and transphobia is not acceptable in this city."

Linda Beanlands, head of the council's community safety team, said: "Brighton and Hove City Council regard the findings of the Count Me In Too report as very important in informing its work in protecting the LGBT community from hate crime and incidents."

The full report can be read at www.countmeintoo.co.uk

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