Paulina Godínez Estrada is a PhD candidate of the Department of Communication at the University of Vienna. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Katharine Sarikakis, her dissertation explores the qualitative dimensions of online hate speech directed at women journalists in Latin America, specifically in Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.  Her dissertation examines media governance by inquiring the impact of hate speech on the journalists' personal and professional lives, as well as the broader implications for media policy, governance, democracy and human rights.

Originally from Guatemala, Paulina studied communication science at the University Rafael Landivar in Guatemala City. She holds a Master of Science in Communication Science from the University of Vienna, where she completed a thesis on hate speech toward indigenous women in Guatemala, analysing the role of the state and media.

Paulina has participated in international media and communications conferences, including the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Conference (2019) and the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference (2021). She co-authored the paper 'Gender-Based Hate Speech: Contributions to the Global Policy Debate From Latin America' (2022) published in the International Journal of Communication, alongside Prof. Dr. Sarikakis and Stephanie Rico.

Paulina has worked in digital communication and content creation across a range of sectors, including international organizations, media and non-governmental organizations. In Vienna, previously she worked at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) focusing on digital communications and editorial management of the UNIDO Industrial Analytics Platform (IAP) in Spanish and English. Currently she is engaged in the topic of migration at the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), contributing to social media management, digital communication and content creation.