Minister calls for debate on prisoners conjugal visits

Page 31: September 10, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, has called for a nation-wide debate on whether or not to allow conjugal visits for inmates of prisons in Ghana.
He said the ministry would appreciate views from civil society including human rights organisations, legal and health related organisations.
He added that a number of countries had started holding discussions on the subject matter because of its positive impact on reformation of prisoners, their re-integration and reducing the risk of HIV/AIDS infections at the correctional centres throughout the world.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, Nana Boahen explained that conjugal visits maintained family bonds, enhanced image changes of inmates and lessened the risks in and out of prisons.
He noted that the suggestion might not be pleasant to a lot of people but it must be looked at critically.
“Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Malaysia are currently debating the subject because they see it as an incentive for better social integration and preservation of family bonds,” he added.
Nana Boahen said in the United States of America, the authorities allow conjugal visitation under a programme known as the “extended family visits”.
He said under the programme in the USA, there were clear regulations under the rules of detention.
“In the USA, to qualify under the extended family visits programme, the spouse or person must be on the prisoner’s visit list, show proof of relationship, pass a background security search, submit to a search on the day of visit and dress appropriately”.
Nana Boahen said the authorities only needed to create special places or centres for prisoners for such purposes where they would spend some hours with their partners once a month.
He said another option would be to consider the programme in Morocco in which the authorities facilitate marriage between male and female prisoners on long-term jail sentences.
Nana Boahen said the issue needed to be given a serious thought and, therefore, called on Parliament to take up the issue.
As to whether the country had the facilities to encourage it, the minister said there might be merit in going for it and the state would, therefore, have to find the resources to sponsor it.
He explained that the benefit to the state might be greater than the cost and, therefore, urged Parliament, civil rights organisations and the public at large to debate it.