Responding to the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services' contribution to the 2025/26 committee of supply speech, Mahalapye West legislator, David Tshere, told Parliament today that marriages should not be wrecked because one of the spouses has been incarcerated. “In some countries, it is allowed for people to have their spouses visit them even if it is just one day in a month. They are allowed to spend the night and sometimes prisoners are even allowed to spend the night with their partners outside prison,” he said. For his part, Shashe West MP, Jeremiah Frenzel, agreed that it is saddening for men to be in the company of other men for many years without any contact with a woman. “It is time prisoners are allowed to have conjugal visits. They shouldn’t have company with the same sex for as long as 15 years, next thing they end up doing bad things with people of the same sex,” he said.
Frenzel said this will also curb situations where other people take advantage and have relationships with people whose spouses are in prisons. Conjugal visits, allowing inmates to spend private time with their partners, are permitted in various countries, including Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Russia, and some US states. Conjugal visits are said to offer several benefits, including maintaining family connections, potentially reducing recidivism, and supporting prisoners' rehabilitation and reintegration, while also impacting prison safety and reducing violence.
