Facilitating positive visiting experiences for children
(Rule 28, Chapter 6)
As of 2015, all Finnish prisons are required to have special visiting rooms for children who come to see their parent, where children are allowed physical contact with their parents. Imprisoned parents can also apply for special ‘family visits,’ up to a few days in length, which take place in rooms that resemble a living room, with a table, a couch and toys for children and their parents to play with. Finland’s Vanaja Open Prison has a separate family house, where the family meeting can be arranged, if necessary, for a period of several days. Family houses contain four apartments of different sizes.
For more information see:
EuroPris Family Relations Expert Group, ‘Good Practice Collection Family Relations‘, 2017, p. 5.