Frequent visits to incarcerated individuals from family and friends can provide emotional support, encouragement, and a sense of connection to the outside world. These factors have been shown to reduce the likelihood of reoffending post-release.
Adjacently, courtesy stigma (CS) elaborates upon the experiences of subjugation visitors encounter when attending correctional facilities, as a residual effect of maintaining relationships with incarcerated people. Despite the benefits of prison visits, most incarcerated people are not visited. A possible explanation for this can be attributed to the negative experiences encountered by the prison visitors during their visit.
To understand visitors' propensity to visit, 21 prison visitors were interviewed about their visitation experiences and how these experiences impacted them. Using Sinkovics Pattern Matching Approach, data collected from the interviews are utilised to expand CS as a theoretical framework. Based on this, CS can be applied in correctional policy concerning prison visits to encourage visitation from outside visitors, thus eliciting factors that reduce reoffending.
×
Tarmi A'Vard
Educator/ Researcher, Monash University/ Bendigo TAFE, Australia
Tarmi A’Vard has over 20 years of experience studying, working, and teaching within the criminal justice sector. She has worked for Community Corrections, Youth Justice, Aboriginal Corporations, and Universities and delivered education to people incarcerated. Tarmi is specifically interested in prison systems, carceral geography, and the consequences of incarceration on the family and friends of those living and working behind the walls.
