Indigenous Australians are the most incarcerated people on earth. They make up two percent of the general population, but a staggering 28 percent of the male prison population and 34 percent of the female prison population.
According to the Australian Law Reform Commission, the majority of indigenous female prisoners are survivors of domestic violence, family violence and sexual abuse. This trauma exacerbates the existing disadvantages faced by First Nations people.
Videos by VICE
In this episode of Violent Times, we interview Vicki Roach: a Yuin woman, academic, and prison abolitionist. She received her first criminal charges when she was just two years old, for ‘neglect by way of destitution.’
Over three decades, she has been in and out of jail, convicted 125 times. Her life is a testament to the systemic inequality and domestic violence that has contributed to the highest indigenous incarceration rate in the world, a life of hardship that Vickie channels into her work as a poet and activist.
Special Thanks to Dark + Dangerous Thoughts, Dark Mofo
If you’re in a position to make a financial donation, these charities are working hard to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians:
Aboriginal Family Violence and Legal Service
AIME Mentoring
Black Rainbow
Bush Mob Aboriginal Corporation
Family Violence Prevention Legal Service
First Nations Telegraph
First Nations Deaths in Custody Watch Committee
First Nations Workers Alliance
Grandmothers Against Removals
Gunawirra
Hey Sis, we’ve got your back
Indigenous Literacy Foundation
IndigenousX
SEED
Sisters Inside
SOS BLAK AUSTRALIA
The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency
Wangan and Jagalingou Family Council
Wunan
WAR: Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance
Yirra Yaakin
