A Scots woman with Down's syndrome who was spat at while on her way home from work is encouraging the victims of disability-related hate crime to speak out.
Sam Ross, 33, was on her way to Glasgow 's Queen Street station in 2018 when she was approached by a man who spat in her eye and walked away, Glasgow Live reports.
She immediately went to find a friend of hers who worked at the station to call the police.
But police couldn’t find the incident on CCTV, as at the time there was building work being carried out nearby.
With little to go on and no witnesses, the culprit was never found.
Sam explained: “I was just coming home from work, listening to my music and this old guy came up to me and spat in my face.
“Maybe he thought I looked different.
“We didn’t know it was a crime."
Sam’s father Tam says officers were in no doubt Sam had suffered a 'sickening' hate crime, and describes support given to the family by police as “excellent”.
He explained that before the attack he led a 'sheltered life' and didn't realise such horrific incidents could happen.
Speaking of his fury, Tam said: "That’s when I realised it’s a crime, doing that to vulnerable people. To anybody.
"The worst thing possible is spitting in someone’s face."
In the years since, Sam has been determined not to let the incident get in the way of living her life.
She has carried on working in the city and carried on going out for drinks with her friends at the weekend.
But now she is encouraging "hidden" victims of crime - people affected by offences that are underreported - to open up about their experiences.
Sam, who is now involved in a campaign run by Police Scotlan, added: “If something like that happens, you should report it right away.
“It’s not just people with Down’s syndrome, it could happen to anyone in the world.”
It comes as a new campaign has been launched with the aim of highlighting the experience of these “hidden” victims of crime.
A hate crime is any crime motivated by malice towards someone on the basis of their disability, sexuality, race, religion or transgender status.
Examples include male victims of stalking and refugees subjected to hate crime for being part of the LGBT+ community.
Victim Support Scotland (VSS), which is behind the campaign, wants to ensure that those affected reach out for the support they are entitled to.
Kate Wallace, chief executive of VSS, says: “Our chosen theme for Victims Awareness Week 2022 was developed to tell the stories of people from diverse backgrounds who have come through crime and whose needs are not being met by services or the justice system.
“A campaign such as this has never been more needed.
"With every crime reported, there are many that go unreported, and therefore victims who cope with the aftermath of crime without support.
"We hope this campaign may give people the confidence to come forward and receive support, regardless of whether the crime has been reported to the police.
“Often, people who have come through crime feel invisible in the justice system – and this feeling can multiply if they are also from a more diverse background.”
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