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.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/dana_harrington_conner/1/