About this site

As a disaster scholar who studies topics typically engaged with in the criminal justice space, I hope to build cross-engagement between the two fields. The goal of the Punishment and Disasters platform is to:

  1. Educate

There is growing visibility and public awareness about the impacts that disasters have on incarcerated people and other marginalized/punished populations (immigrants, the unhoused, gender minorities, etc.). Those impacts remain overlooked by many in the general public, academics, practitioners, and policy makers. With this platform I hope to provide knowledge about many of these issues. Furthermore, I could not do the work that I do without continuous engagement with disciplines (criminal justice, history, psychology, policy, geography, environmental justice, etc.).

Ultimately, I hope that the materials shared through this platform provide general education to anyone with a general interest in disasters and punishment.

  1. Build Solidarity

My hope is that people with lived experience relating to the topics covered in Punishment and Disasters are centered, affirmed and supported by the discussions and materials covered in this space.

With this platform, I hope that those engaged in hazards and disasters spaces will learn that their work is influenced by punishment imperatives and does have direct and/or indirect implications for punished populations. I also hope that those engaged in the disaster space (non-profits, local government, emergency management, first responders) will grow to see how many of the issues that are seen as isolated to the criminal justice space (incarceration, On the flip-side, I hope that those engaged in criminal justice related work will see that the work done in the hazards and disasters space has relevance and impact to their own work and the populations they are engaging with.

  1. Inform Policy and Practice

My hope is that the information and discussions shared in this space will positively inform policy and practice.

  1. Supporting Community Organizations

While academics (like myself), practitioners, and policy-makers in the hazards and disasters spaces are becoming more aware of the realities of many of these issues, I must recognize that many community organizations have been on the frontlines, working to address the harm that punished populations are subjected to.

Punishment and Disasters is an independent publication launched in February 2025 by Carlee Purdum. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows Punishment and Disasters to continue to exist. Thank you!

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