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Experiences
Ike Curtis
When Vickie Roach was first incarcerated at the age of 17, a friend sent her a letter with a message she still carries with her today.
“Keep your shit together, don’t let the bastards grind you down,” it said.
This is a message she’s carried across the more than 50 years since, through a number of stints in prison, successful human rights challenges and decades of campaigning for those inside.
It’s also her main message to those currently in prison.
“That stayed with me, and it has all this time,” Roach told About Time.
Since breaking free from the incarceration cycle, Roach has been a tireless advocate for people in prison, particularly women and First Nations people.
A member of the Stolen Generations, she was removed from her family by authorities in 1961, when she was just 2 years old, and given a criminal record at that age for “neglect by way of destitution”.
Roach dropped out of school when she was 13 and was incarcerated for the first time before her 18th birthday.
In 2007, while incarcerated at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Victoria, Roach led a High Court challenge against a Commonwealth law banning all people in prison from voting.
The landmark Roach v Electoral Commissioner case won the right to vote for those in prison serving a sentence of less than three years.
For a 30-year period of her life, Roach was stuck in the revolving door of a number of prisons and the criminal justice system.
Her message for those currently inside is to keep strong, participate in as many programs and education chances as possible and contact family and friends as much as you can.
She said one of the things that helped her get through this was undertaking a master’s degree in writing, which she successfully completed while serving time at Dame Phyllis.
“I hadn’t even finished high school – I left school when I was 13. I didn’t have a BA, but I had a master’s degree,” she said.
“Some of the screws were really supportive, and we had the very first graduation ceremony within the prison. We had the whole procession, with puffy hats and the head of the university, and they brought the mace. They did the whole shebang.
“That was gratifying and validating that they’d recognised it was actually something pretty special I’d achieved.”
When Vickie Roach was first incarcerated at the age of 17, a friend sent her a letter with a message she still carries with her today.
“Keep your shit together, don’t let the bastards grind you down,” it said.
This is a message she’s carried across the more than 50 years since, through a number of stints in prison, successful human rights challenges and decades of campaigning for those inside.
It’s also her main message to those currently in prison.
“That stayed with me, and it has all this time,” Roach told About Time.
Since breaking free from the incarceration cycle, Roach has been a tireless advocate for people in prison, particularly women and First Nations people.
A member of the Stolen Generations, she was removed from her family by authorities in 1961, when she was just 2 years old, and given a criminal record at that age for “neglect by way of destitution”.
Roach dropped out of school when she was 13 and was incarcerated for the first time before her 18th birthday.
In 2007, while incarcerated at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Victoria, Roach led a High Court challenge against a Commonwealth law banning all people in prison from voting.
The landmark Roach v Electoral Commissioner case won the right to vote for those in prison serving a sentence of less than three years.
For a 30-year period of her life, Roach was stuck in the revolving door of a number of prisons and the criminal justice system.
Her message for those currently inside is to keep strong, participate in as many programs and education chances as possible and contact family and friends as much as you can.
She said one of the things that helped her get through this was undertaking a master’s degree in writing, which she successfully completed while serving time at Dame Phyllis.
“I hadn’t even finished high school – I left school when I was 13. I didn’t have a BA, but I had a master’s degree,” she said.
“Some of the screws were really supportive, and we had the very first graduation ceremony within the prison. We had the whole procession, with puffy hats and the head of the university, and they brought the mace. They did the whole shebang.
“That was gratifying and validating that they’d recognised it was actually something pretty special I’d achieved.”
She urged those in prison to pursue education if they can – to escape from day-to-day life in prison and to provide opportunities after release.
“I would have never tried to get into university if I was out of prison. It would’ve been impossible,” she said.
“Doing education gave me a way out and actually gave me higher pay. It gave me an escape – being in education instead of being amongst the rest of the jail. It was like a haven.”
These small acts of resistance, such as standing up for your rights or completing an education course, can help to get through a period of incarceration, she said.
“It’s about learning about yourself, learning about life, about resistance and about the prison industrial complex,” Roach said.
Roach also said it’s important to get involved with as many other programs as possible, particularly those that may help other people in prison too. During her time in prison, Roach worked as a peer educator, providing education on blood-borne viruses to people arriving in prison.
She also helped to provide training with guards and other workers at the prison.
“The difference between the ones that hadn’t been trained by us and the ones that did get that one hour with us was astonishing,” Roach said. “They didn’t treat us like we had 12 heads.
“It completely changed the dynamic in jail.”
Roach has been fighting for the rights of those in prison since she was released and still believes there is a better way. She provided evidence to the Yoorrook Justice Commission, Victoria’s first formal truth-telling process into historical and ongoing injustices against First Peoples in Victoria. Roach advocated for healing places rather than prisons.
“We have to heal rather than punish,” Roach told the commission. “People meting out vengeance and punishment and cruelty will only reap bad things in the future for society.”
She urged those in prison to pursue education if they can – to escape from day-to-day life in prison and to provide opportunities after release.
“I would have never tried to get into university if I was out of prison. It would’ve been impossible,” she said.
“Doing education gave me a way out and actually gave me higher pay. It gave me an escape – being in education instead of being amongst the rest of the jail. It was like a haven.”
These small acts of resistance, such as standing up for your rights or completing an education course, can help to get through a period of incarceration, she said.
“It’s about learning about yourself, learning about life, about resistance and about the prison industrial complex,” Roach said.
Roach also said it’s important to get involved with as many other programs as possible, particularly those that may help other people in prison too. During her time in prison, Roach worked as a peer educator, providing education on blood-borne viruses to people arriving in prison.
She also helped to provide training with guards and other workers at the prison.
“The difference between the ones that hadn’t been trained by us and the ones that did get that one hour with us was astonishing,” Roach said. “They didn’t treat us like we had 12 heads.
“It completely changed the dynamic in jail.”
Roach has been fighting for the rights of those in prison since she was released and still believes there is a better way. She provided evidence to the Yoorrook Justice Commission, Victoria’s first formal truth-telling process into historical and ongoing injustices against First Peoples in Victoria. Roach advocated for healing places rather than prisons.
“We have to heal rather than punish,” Roach told the commission. “People meting out vengeance and punishment and cruelty will only reap bad things in the future for society.”
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