Sofia Collignon

Dr Sofia Collignon is an expert in the study of candidates, elections and parties and gendered violence against political elites. Her most recent research lays in the intersection of elite politics and public opinion. Her research uses mainly quantitative methods (surveys, panel data, survival and multilevel models) coupled together with interviews. She joined QMUL in 2022. Previously, she was Lecturer in Political Communication at Royal Holloway, University of London (2018-2022) and postdoctoral Research Associate at the School of Government and Public Policy, University of Strathclyde (2016-2017).

Dr Collignon’s increasingly impactful research has attracted national and international attention, generating a series of high-ranking publications, invited talks and ongoing collaborations with recognised academic research teams, practitioners and third sector organisations. Her article Increasing the cost of female representation? The gendered effects of harassment, abuse and intimidation towards Parliamentary candidates in the UK (co-authored with W. Rüdig) was selected as the best paper published at the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties in 2021. Her article Sexual Predators in Contest for Public Office: How the American Electorate Responds to News of Allegations of Candidates Committing Sexual Assault and Harassment (with S. Stark) has been downloaded more than 60,000 times, making it the most downloaded paper of Political Studies Review.

She continuously engages in external engagement and dissemination activities. She advises national and international governments and non-governmental organisations on key policy and delivery issues, especially related to abuse, harassment and intimidation in public life. Her work has been covered by important international media outlets such the Atlantic, The Washington Monthly, The Guardian, Sky News, BBC, NBCUniversal and CNN.