Dr Sophie King-Hill awarded prestigious fellowship to help the UK Government tackle violence against women and girls and serious harm.
Dr Sophie King-Hill is Associate Professor of Social Policy and Society at the University of Birmingham.
Dr Sophie King-Hill, Associate Professor of Social Policy and Society at the University of Birmingham, has been awarded a prestigious UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Policy Fellowship, placing her at the heart of government decision-making.
Selected as one of just 41 fellows nationwide, and one of only five embedded within the Cabinet Office, Dr King-Hill will work for the Evaluation Task Force - supporting the delivery and evaluation of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission.
Over the course of the 18-month fellowship, Dr King-Hill will help drive a step change in evidence-based policymaking and public sector reform.
Her work will span the full breadth of the Safer Streets Mission, which sets ambitious targets to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and knife crime within the next decade, while restoring trust and confidence in the Criminal Justice System.
Dr King-Hill is an Associate Professor in the Health Services Management Centre. Her work specialises in policy, harm reduction, and safeguarding responses to the sexual behaviours of children and young people. Her research focuses on first-point assessment, early identification of risk and the development of proportionate, trauma‑informed interventions that prevent escalation and reduce harm. She works extensively on controversial and sensitive issues in youth contexts. Access to resources created by Dr King-Hill is available on the University of Birmingham website.
Dr King-Hill’s interest in policy implementation, system transfer and evaluation frameworks has led to her work with boys and young men on masculinity, identity formation and the cultural drivers that shape risk and vulnerability.
I am truly honoured to be awarded this UKRI Policy Fellowship and to contribute to the Safer Streets Mission from within the Cabinet Office. This is a significant opportunity to ensure that rigorous research and lived experience inform how we tackle some of the most urgent challenges facing society.
Her work has a strong focus on participatory approaches and stakeholder engagement. In 2021 she gave a TEDx Talk, challenging viewers to look at how teenagers are understood, how sex is perceived and the subsequent impact that these standpoints have on young people. Alongside her academic work and research, she has given evidence to Select Committees at Westminster on Relationships and Sex Education and PSHE and to the Northern Ireland Assembly on Relationships and Sexuality Education.
The fellowship forms part of a major investment by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to strengthen connections between academia and policymaking. Dr King-Hill said: “I am truly honoured to be awarded this UKRI Policy Fellowship and to contribute to the Safer Streets Mission from within the Cabinet Office. This is a significant opportunity to ensure that rigorous research and lived experience inform how we tackle some of the most urgent challenges facing society. Reducing violence against women and children, addressing knife crime, and rebuilding trust in the Criminal Justice System require sustained, evidence-led action. I am excited to work at the heart of government to help translate research into meaningful, measurable change.”
By embedding leading researchers within government departments, devolved administrations, arm’s length bodies and the What Works Network, the programme aims to improve the flow of evidence, insight and expertise into public policy. Together, the 41 fellows will bring cutting-edge analytical skills directly into the heart of decision-making on some of the UK’s most pressing challenges.
The 2026 cohort will support a range of government missions and priorities. Alongside the Safer Streets Mission, fellowships also focus on areas such as future national resilience in the face of natural hazards, supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of the COVID-19 Commemoration Programme.
Frances Burstow, Director of Talent and Skills at UKRI, said: “Our investment in policy fellows will lead to increased interactions between talented researchers and policymakers, directly supporting the delivery of strategic government and societal priorities.”
The fellowship programme provides dedicated training and mentoring, enabling fellows to build lasting networks across academia and government. Dr King-Hill’s appointment further strengthens the University of Birmingham’s commitment to impactful, policy-engaged research that supports safer communities and more effective public services.
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Associate Professor
Sophie specialises in sexual behaviours in children and young people, assessment tools, sibling sexual behaviour/abuse, masculinity, RSE and youth voice.
