Do No Harm: An Analysis of the Legal and Social Consequences of Child Visitation Determinations for Incarcerated Perpetrators of Extreme Acts of Violence Against Women

Abstract:     
Despite the attention prison visitation has received in general, little consideration is given to the nature of the crime for which a parent is incarcerated, intimate partner violence in particular, and how such crimes affect bonding and ultimately prison visitation determinations.

Although research suggests prison visitation can be advantageous to parent-child bonding essential to the healthy development of children, it appears that the nature of the bond is a significant factor to consider when assessing the appropriateness of continued contact. This matter is further complicated by the trauma associated with childhood exposure to extreme acts of violence against a parent and how that exposure shapes bonding.

This article suggests that courts have a unique opportunity to stop the intergenerational transmission of violence in extreme cases through proper assessment and limitations on visitation. Denying visitation to incarcerated batterers, however, is a quick fix to a problem which will eventually resurface once the parent is released from incarceration. Thus, the writer argues that courts have a responsibility to be creative in fashioning relief that takes into account the needs of children suffering from trauma and the treatment of batterers.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 82

Keywords: Women, Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Abuse, Batterer, Visitation, Prison Visitation, children

JEL Classification: k39

Accepted Paper Series