Conjugal visit

A conjugal visit is a scheduled period in which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visitor, usually their legal spouse. The parties may engage in sexual intercourse, and the generally recognized basis for permitting such visits in modern times is to preserve family bonds, and increase the chances of success for a prisoner's eventual return to life outside prison. Additionally, they serve as an incentive to motivate inmates to comply with the various day-to-day rules and regulations of the prison, to avoid any infringement which might disqualify them from having a conjugal visit.

The visit will usually take place in designated rooms or a structure provided for that purpose, such as a trailer or a small cabin. Supplies such as soap, condoms, bed linens, and towels may be provided.

Country

Australia

In Australia, conjugal visits are permitted in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria.

Brazil

In Brazil, male prisoners are eligible to be granted conjugal visits for both heterosexual and homosexual relationships, while women's conjugal visits are tightly regulated, if granted at all.

Canada

In Canada, all inmates, with the exception of those on disciplinary restrictions or at risk for family violence, are permitted "private family visits" of up to 72 hours' duration once every two months. Eligible visitors, who may not themselves be prison inmates, are: spouse, or common-law partner of at least six months; children; parents; foster parents; siblings; grandparents; and "persons with whom, in the opinion of the institutional head, the inmate has a close familial bond". Food is provided by the institution but paid by the inmates and visitors, who are also responsible for cleaning the unit after the visit. During a visit, staff members have regular contact with the inmate and visitors.

Denmark

In Denmark, conjugal visits have been allowed for years. The prison in Jutland "Statsfængslet Østjylland" (East Jutland State Prison) has apartments for couples, where inmates who have been sentenced to more than 8 years in prison can have visitation for 47 hours per visit.

France

France allows prisoners who have earned the right to a conjugal visit to stay in decorated home-like apartments. Spouses of inmates may use these apartments as a primary residence, with inmates permitted to cohabitate up to three days a week.

Germany

Germany allows prisoners and their spouses or partners to apply for conjugal vists. Those who are approved are allowed unsupervised visits so that prisoners can preserve intimate bonds with loved ones on the outside. However, prisoners are searched before being allowed a visit. In 2010, an inmate murdered his girlfriend and attempted suicide during a visit, leading to additional criticism of the allegedly lax security in German prisons.

Ireland

Marie and Noel Murray, an anarchist married couple imprisoned for a 1976 murder, lost a 1991 appeal for conjugal rights. The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitutional right to beget children within marriage was suspended while a spouse was lawfully imprisoned.

Israel

The Israel Prison Service (IPS) allows standard conjugal visits to non-Palestinian inmates who are married or are in a common-law relationship, and have been on good behavior. Inmates eligible for prison leave are not allowed conjugal visits, and requests for conjugal visits can be rejected on security grounds. Conjugal visits can also be withheld as a means of punishment. The IPS has five conjugal visit facilities, all of which are single-story buildings located outside the common prison blocs. IPS guidelines currently make no mention of same-sex conjugal visits.

Mexico

Specifically in Mexico City, in July 2007, the prison system in that city has begun to allow gay prisoners to have conjugal visits from their partners, on the basis of a 2003 law which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Pakistan

In Pakistan Appeal has been made in 2010 by the court to allow male prisoners conjugal visits from their female spouses. Chief Minister Sindh speaking to the reporters expressed a desire to enact a law that will make it possible for the prisoners to meet their wife for a night twice a month.

Russia

In the Russian penal system, since a campaign of prison reform that began in 2001, well-behaved prisoners are granted an eighteen-day holiday furlough from incarceration to see loved ones. Prisoners also get extended on-site family visits, approximately once per month.

Saudi Arabia

According to Islamic Sharia Laws, conjugal visits are permitted in Saudi Arabia.

Spain

In Spain, prisoners are allowed conjugal visits every four to eight weeks. They are held in private rooms and can last up to three hours. Couples are provided with condoms, shower facilities and clean towels.

United Kingdom

Neither the English and Welsh, Scottish nor Northern Irish prison systems allow conjugal visits, and political pressure to punish criminals makes it a difficult issue to suggest. However, home visits, with a greater emphasis on building other links with the outside world to which the prisoner will be returned, are allowed. These home visits are usually only granted to prisoners who have a few weeks to a few months remaining of a long sentence. Further more, home visits are more likely to be granted if the prisoner is deemed to have a low risk of absconding i.e. prisoners being held in open prisons have a better chance of being granted home visits than prisoners being held in closed conditions.

United States

In Lyons v. Gilligan (1974), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio held that the prisoners have no constitutional right to conjugal visit with their wives during visits.

The United States Federal Bureau of Prisons does not allow conjugal visits for prisoners in federal custody. For prisoners in state custody, the availability of conjugal visits is governed by the law of the particular state. Where conjugal visits are allowed, inmates must meet certain requirements to qualify for this privilege:

The visitor may be required to undergo a background check, and the inmate must also be free of any sexually transmitted diseases. As a matter of procedure, both visitor and inmate are searched before and after the visit, to ensure that the visitor has not attempted to smuggle any items in or out of the facility.

Over the last 40 years, most new prisons included special buildings specifically designed for "Sunday visits." Today, conjugal visitation programs, also known as the Extended Family Visit, survive in six states: California, Connecticut, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, and Washington.

In June 2007, the California Department of Corrections announced it would allow same-sex conjugal visits. The policy was enacted to comply with a 2005 state law requiring state agencies to give the same rights to domestic partners that heterosexual couples receive. The new rules allow for visits only by registered married same sex couples or domestic partners who are not themselves incarcerated. Further, the same sex marriage or domestic partnership must have been established before the prisoner was incarcerated.

In April 2011, New York adopted to allow conjugal visits for currently married, or civil-union spouses same-sex partners.

See also

• Same-sex conjugal visit, in the article LGBT people in prison

References

• Hopper, Columbus B. (1962). "The Conjugal Visit at Mississippi State Penitentiary". The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science. 53 (3). Northwestern University: 340–343. doi:10.2307/1141470. JSTOR 1141470. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)