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Susan Sered, PhD

One sociologist's thoughts on women’s health, mass incarceration, and other issues of the day

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Can’t Catch a Break

November 10, 2015 Susan Sered

Eulogy for Elizabeth, Update

For background on Elizabeth’s murder please read Eulogy for Elizabeth. Nearly a year after she was murdered by a man against whom she had taken […]

October 22, 2015October 10, 2019 Susan Sered

Social Capital, Cultural Capital and Faith Communities

“What Churches Don’t Get About Ministering to Marginalized Women” – By Jennifer L. Hollis Originally published in Sojourners 10-12-2015 ESSENTIAL INFORMATION- Before taking any specific […]

September 11, 2015January 12, 2016 Susan Sered

The Women of Can’t Catch a Break: Late Summer 2015 Update

Click here and here for previous updates. Click here for the 2016 New Years update. For women who struggle with homelessness, summer can be a […]

September 2, 2015 Susan Sered

Prostitution, Decriminalization and the Problem of Consent

Last month Amnesty International came out in support for “the full decriminalization of all aspects of consensual sex work.” The reasons make sense: Decriminalization will […]

April 6, 2015August 30, 2015 Susan Sered

Failure by Design: Isabella’s Experiences with Social “Services”

My friend Isabella has been beside herself with worry over her son and her housing situation. Ever since the first time we met (seven years […]

March 26, 2015May 23, 2016 Susan Sered

Trickle DOWN Economics

My friend Tonya, a woman in her late thirties who has lived in poverty for decades, called me today. “I feel like a sponge,” she […]

February 2, 2015June 4, 2020 Susan Sered

The “Bitch” at the Welfare Office — Or Why Responsibility Without Authority Makes Us Sick

feature image via thebluedolphins.blogspot.com A few days ago I listened while Francesca, a woman I’ve come to know during a decade of working with criminalized […]

January 21, 2015January 26, 2015 Susan Sered

Orange Frosted Hostess Cupcakes

feature image from Steven Brisson Maureen Norton-Hawk, co-author of Can’t Catch a Break: Gender, Jail, Drugs, and the Limits of Personal Responsibility, recently learned that  […]

January 15, 2015January 26, 2015 Susan Sered

The Women of Can’t Catch a Break – Christmas 2014 Updates

This is the second “Reader’s Guide to Updates” on the women of Can’t Catch a Break. (Click here for the previous update.) Not all of […]

December 18, 2014January 26, 2015 Susan Sered

Video: Can’t Catch a Break

My colleague Maureen Norton-Hawk and I recently had an opportunity to speak about our book Can’t Catch a Break: Gender, Jail, Drugs, and the the […]

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