C HAPTER 23. V ISITS Another important method of maintaining contact between prisoners and the outside world, especially with their families, is through regular visits. The international instruments make it clear that contact with a family is a right, not a privilege to be earned. PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS This is an emotional area for prison staff as well as for prisoners. This session must be handled with that in mind. Discussion is to be encouraged, but anecdotal content must be kept under control by the trainer. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION A list of topics is provided in the Manual. Methodology: The trainees should be divided into small groups for discussion. Each group should be given the three topics to discuss. There is no need for a reporting back session, but it would be helpful to have facilitators from the training team move around the groups to ensure maximum benefit from the discussions. The trainees should be encouraged to draw on the practical recommendations and the international instruments during their discussions. Points to be highlighted/suggested areas for discussion: 39. – Taking account of security needs, visits should take place in as relaxed an atmosphere as possible; 39. – Ideally, families should be allowed to hold visits in private, out of the hearing and sight of staff; 39. – If this is not possible, there should be as much privacy as possible. For example, by having them within sight of staff, but out of earshot; 39. – Provision might be made for volunteers or trained childminders to take care of children while parents have private discussions; 39. – The intimacy of conjugal visits can be seen as the most likely way to keep a family together during the imprisonment of one of the parties; 39. – Such visits may also be the cause of a great deal of stress because of the circumstances in which they take place; 117