On Tuesday we met Cath Roper from Melbourne, Australia. Cath is working with Piers Gooding, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Melbourne Law School, on a narrative and response relating to consent to medical treatment.

My name is Piers Gooding.

I come from Australia.

My 6-word autobiography is: socio-legal academic and sometimes saxophonist.

I have experience researching in law and policy related to disability, mental health, and international human rights law. I have focused in particular on mental health, guardianship, assisted decision-making, and accessible justice.

I am interested in stories about mental health, coercion, fairness in criminal justice, and equal recognition before the law.

I joined the VOICES project because I’m interested in how stories can be used to improve justice. I am curious about how stories can reveal the impact of law and policy on people’s lives, and how they can inform the way law and policy is designed.

What was your favourite part of the first workshop?

My favourite part of the first workshop was meeting people from all over the world. Identifying common experiences and seeking lessons from this diverse pool of knowledge was really interesting. I also enjoyed the steps taken to integrate lessons from art into researching law and policy.

What are you hoping to learn from the project?

I’m hoping to learn more about legal capacity, and more about designing law and policy to be more responsive to the communities they (should) serve. I’m interested in exploring research methods related to narrative and storytelling, and collaborating internationally to find solutions to shared, local issues.