Greater Manchester police will be making history from today as it becomes the first city to officially record domestic abuse reports within the LGBT community.
Following work between Greater Manchester Police, support service Independent Choices, LGBT Foundation and specialist trainers, code “D66” has been used in GMP’s City of Manchester division since June 2016 to record reports of domestic abuse in the LGBT community.
Over 100 incidents have been logged in the pilot area since then and from today, Monday 10th April, officers in all areas of Greater Manchester will use the code.
Since June, police and partners have had extra training to increase their understanding of the different needs of people who find themselves in domestic abuse situations.
No other police force in the UK has recorded this information before and it’s hoped that its introduction will add to Greater Manchester’s current work to capture trends and patterns and ultimately tackle the issue and support victims in the most effective way possible.
Detective Chief Inspector Myra Ball from GMP said,
“This is a huge step forward in tackling domestic abuse specifically within the LGBT community here in Greater Manchester, and shows our commitment to supporting all victims of domestic abuse in the best way possible, for them.
“Over the six month pilot in just one area of Greater Manchester we logged over 150 incidents of LGBT domestic abuse. This code will help us to identify and monitor LGBT domestic abuse incidents, which in turn will help us shape any processes needed to tackle it.
“Across the multiagency partnership we have identified the lack of monitoring in this respect and the partnership has funded a specialist LGBT IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Adviser) at Independent Choices. We are also continuing our work on a national level with the national LGBT domestic abuse helpline at Galop to better understand the issues surrounding domestic abuse in the LGBT community and encourage victims and friends and family of victims to report the issue and have the confidence to come forward.”
Nik Noone, CEO of Galop said,
“Domestic abuse does not discriminate, and neither should the reporting of domestic abuse. The GMP’s D66 code will not only help break down barriers to reporting, we hope it will encourage other police forces across the country to roll out similar initiatives. Galop will be working hard to support this key development for LGBT survivors.”
People in Greater Manchester are encouraged to get comfortable talking about domestic abuse in all its forms – including coercion and control – thanks to the ‘Sitting Right With You’ campaign. The campaign gets people thinking differently about domestic abuse and encourages victims or concerned friends and family to take that first step towards help and support.
