The chief executive of the disability charity Mencap, Mark Goldring, said Askew had endured "terrible and prolonged abuse".
He said: "Mencap estimates that as many as nine out of 10 people with a learning disability are verbally harassed or exposed to violence due to their disability.
"It is hate crime and deserves to be taken as seriously as racial, religious and homophobic crime."
The IPCC report should be "a wake-up call", said Richard Hawkes, the chief executive of Scope.
He said: "Disabled people experience harassment and abuse on a daily basis, simply because they are different.
"Often it starts with persistent low-level incidents. But if left unchecked, antisocial behaviour can escalate into something more serious. The impact can be unspeakable.
"Victims find it hard to come forward. Many will ignore harassment – others will find the justice system literally inaccessible.
"As a result, disability hate crime is sorely under-reported and official figures mask the true scale of the problem. Where it is reported, conviction rates are much lower than other types of hate crime."
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