Hate crime case study: ‘I’ve been groped and beaten’

She said: “I’ve experienced so many incidents over the years.

“A couple of years ago in a bar in Leith a drunk guy asked me about my stick. I politely explained I didn’t want to talk about it and walked away, but he shouted after me: “F*** off you blind c***.

“Another time I was in a bar when a guy came over and told me well done for still getting out and about. I said blind people could still have a good social life, when he suddenly smacked me about the head. Then he did it again. I think he didn’t believe I could see him.

“On Leith Walk I got [abuse] all the time. They’d throw things, somebody groped me. This happened on a daily basis.

“I feel sometimes that I would never be out of the police station if I reported everything, and thousands of incidents probably go unnoticed.”