María Laura Serra 

I am a human rights researcher, Argentinian lawyer (National University of Mar del Plata), I have a Master and PhD in Human Rights from the University Carlos III of Madrid that I have been able to do through an FPI grant. I have received the Extraordinary PhD Award (2018) for doctoral theses from the PhD programme in Advanced Studies in Human Rights at the University Carlos III of Madrid and the "Pilar Azcárate" Award for doctoral theses on gender and equal opportunities.

Before joining UVa, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth in a Horizon 2020 project, in consortium with 10 European universities, conducting socio-legal research and using qualitative and quantitative methods.

In addition, I have worked at the ONCE Foundation and at the CERMI Women's Foundation where I was in charge of the reports on the Human Rights of Women with Disabilities for 2017 and 2018. My first postdoctoral position was in the VOICES project of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy (CDLP) at the National University of Ireland in Galway with ERC funding.

I have participated in other national and international human rights projects, particularly in the area of disability and gender studies for the Latin American region, Spain, Ireland and Qatar. My publications include work on the rights of women with disabilities, legal capacity, equality and non-discrimination, and sexual and reproductive rights.

My research interests include intersectionality, equality, disability and social movements. I am committed to intersectional feminism and believe in social justice from a participatory approach.

Study on the Spanish mental health system. The overall objective of the project is to explore the barriers that psychiatric users and survivors (including people with psychosocial disabilities) face within the Spanish mental health system. The study aims to provide a socio-legal context for developing public policies and legal changes that respect and guarantee their human rights.

My vision is social justice for all people, including people with disabilities. I believe that change is real when it comes from the bottom up. My values as a researcher are social justice from a participatory and collaborative approach. I believe in research work that is done together with the community for whom I want to defend, protect and promote their rights.

Study on Human Rights in the Mental Health System
You can see more information about this project in this leaflet this leaflet.