A heartfelt thank you to Lady Mayoress Elisabeth Mainelli

As the City of London prepares for the Lord Mayor’s Show on Saturday, marking the transition to a new mayoral year, we would like to thank the outgoing Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli and his wife, Lady Mayoress Elisabeth Mainelli, for their significant contribution to making our City safer.  

The Prevent Violence against Women and Girls and Domestic Abuse Consortium – Our Safer City was launched in November 2023 by the City of London Crime Prevention Association. Lady Mayoress Elisabeth Mainelli generously agreed to become our Patron. Her encouragement has been pivotal in galvanizing an impressive range of partners and supporting impactful initiatives aimed at enhancing safety for women in our City, which I have taken the opportunity to list below.

A year of impactful initiatives

Taxi Marshalling: The relaunch of taxi marshalling at Liverpool Street Station has been a resounding success. With over 15,000 journeys facilitated and 24,000 passengers served, this initiative has provided a safer travel option for many, particularly the 34 per cent of users who were lone females. Notably, 97.5 per cent of the people using this service felt safer on their journey home.

Safe Haven Scheme: This provides designated safe spaces — such as building foyers, hospitality locations, libraries and similar premises — where women can go if they feel uncomfortable or vulnerable while out in the City. There are currently 42 safe havens throughout the City of London, easily accessible via the Safe Haven app. Of note, Greene King have made all their City locations safe havens and intend to adopt this scheme nationally.  

Ask for Angela: In partnership with the Safer Business Network and the City of London Police, this established initiative empowers individuals who feel vulnerable on a night out to seek help discreetly. The number of Ask for Angela locations has doubled. 

Public-private partnerships for progress: Our consortium works in support of the national policing priority of tackling violence against women and girls in partnership with the City of London Corporation, City of London Police, Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police, Safer Business Network, City BIDs and others.

To further increase the safety of women in the City, the consortium has forged several additional partnerships, including collaborating with the City of London Police Op-Reframe Night-Time Economy initiative and the City Security Council to enhance visible security across the City.

Changing attitudes and behaviours: A crucial aspect of ensuring women’s safety is changing attitudes and behaviours among men. We are actively developing partnerships with organisations at the heart of developing awareness and education programmes in this area, including:

Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA): This key organisation raises awareness about domestic abuse’s prevalence and encourages employers to take effective action to support their employees.

Just Be Lads: This charity, founded by Poppy Murray, engages men as allies by providing them with tools and language to contribute positively.

Stamp Out Spiking: Launched by Dawn Dines, this leading initiative raises awareness about drink spiking and provides training to safeguard against this crime.

A Data-Driven Approach

To ensure our efforts are informed and effective, we have conducted surveys to understand public sentiment regarding safety in the City. Additionally, we collaborate with Oxford Partnership for intelligence analysis to guide our initiatives. 

We would also like to thank and acknowledge the Lord Mayor’s Fellow, Professor Katrin Hohl OBE, for her critical research into rape and sexual assault investigations.

In conclusion, we extend our sincere thanks to Lady Mayoress Elisabeth Mainelli for her exceptional support and commitment to making the City of London a safer place for women. Her engagement has inspired many and, as we move forward, it is essential that we continue to build on the foundations she has helped to establish.

For more information on how you can support our efforts against violence towards women and girls, please visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn for updates.

Don Randall MBE  is chairman of the City of London Crime Prevention Association  and chairman of Prevent Violence against Women and Girls and Domestic Violence – Our Safer City