MORE than 700 people have been helped in the first year of Greater Manchester Police recording domestic abuse in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Last year the force launched code D66 alongside specialist trainers, support service Independent Choices and the LGBT Foundation.

It made it the first police force in the country to record domestic abuse in the LGBT community.

The initiative, which was first piloted in the City of Manchester Borough, has resulted in 775 incidents being logged by police in the first year.

Police have been working with partners to provide extra training to officers to ensure they are best equipped to support those in domestic abuse situations.

GMP will use figures to identify trends and patterns which will be used to implement appropriate patrols and processes where necessary.

Detective Superintendent Denise Worth from Greater Manchester Police said: “These figures are a positive step in supporting victims and ensuring they are signposted to the right services that are then able to provide appropriate care.

“The D66 coding is a simple process which enables us to identify the community affected and provide local authorities with latest figures which allows them to commission relevant services to support victims.

“Our findings and processes have also been shared nationally and we hope this will assist other forces in adopting their own practices to help those victims.”

The force is also continuing its partnership with the national LGBT domestic abuse helpline at Galp 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.

Peter Kelley head of domestic abuse service at Galop said: “Every day staff at our National LGBT Domestic Abuse Helpline are contacted by LGBT+ people looking for help and support with domestic abuse and violence.

"It’s really important that victims and survivors get the help they need without facing additional barriers because of their sexuality and gender identity.

"Galop fully supports the continued efforts of Greater Manchester Police to increase the number of LGBT+ people reporting domestic abuse through the D66 initiative and we hope that its success over the last year will encourage other police forces across the UK to adopt similar initiatives.”

People in Greater Manchester are being encouraged to get comfortable talking about domestic abuse in all its forms including coercion and control thanks to the ‘Sitting Right With You’ campaign. To find out more go to www.sittingrightwithyou.co.uk