City, University of London and the Lord Mayor partner on a shared civic goal: combatting violence against women and girls in the City.
By Eve Lacroix (Senior Communications Officer), Published
City, University of London and the City of London Corporation are pleased to announce the inaugural Lord Mayor’s Fellowship.
The first fellowship, which will last a year to coincide with the tenure of the Lord Mayor, has been awarded to Professor Katrin Hohl, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice from City’s School of Policy and Global Affairs.
As a fellow, Professor Hohl will work on research, dissemination and engagement activities related to combatting violence against women and girls, which is one of the key civic priorities of the incoming Lord Mayor of London.
The Lord Mayor: an ambassador for the City of London
City has a longstanding connection to the Lord Mayor, who holds the role of Rector at the University.
Michael Mainelli, an economist and founder of the progressive Z/Yen thinktank, was elected to take up the role in November 2023. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from City at the University’s winter graduation ceremony in January 2024.
He heads up the City of London Corporation and acts as an international ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services sector and makes sure that the City’s interests are reflected in local and national policy.
As part of his appointment, Lord Mayor Mainelli has articulated a number of policy-related priorities, under the over-arching theme of ‘Connect to Prosper.’ His wife Elisabeth, the Lady Mayoress, has committed to continuing the Stop Violence Against Women & Girls Initiative.
Discussing the fellowship, he said:
The Lord Mayor’s Fellowship: a shared research agenda
Professor Hohl was appointed to the inaugural fellowship role to work on the Lord Mayoress’ initiative, which links closely to Professor Hohl’s research expertise.
As a researcher, Professor Hohl investigates violence against women and girls and police responses to domestic abuse.
She was the joint academic lead of Operation Soteria Bluestone, a groundbreaking Home Office-funded police-academic collaboration aimed at radically transforming police responses to rape and other sexual offences. The programme resulted in the first National Operation Model for this type of offending and has been adopted by all 43 police forces in England and Wales. The programme has been credited with tripling and doubling rape charge rates in pathfinder forces.
She also researches police responses to domestic abuse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was the Principal Investigator of the UKRI-ESRC funded rapid response research programme "Responding to the Covid-19 domestic abuse crisis: building a police evidence base".
Speaking about her appointment, Professor Katrin Hohl said:
Discussing the fellowship, Dr Sionade Robinson, Vice-President (Enterprise, Engagement & Employability), said:
Professor Charles Lees, Dean of the School of Policy & Global Affairs, said: