Italy's first-ever sex room went into operation on Friday (April 18) after a Constitutional Court ruling that recognised inmates' right to have “intimate meetings” with partners visiting from outside. Yesterday was the first time that an inmate was allowed to visit his female partner in a special facility at a jail in the central Umbria region. 

Advertisment

Also read: 11-year-old deaf and mute girl sexually assaulted; one accused shot at and arrested in encounter

“We are happy because everything went smoothly, but it is necessary to maintain the maximum privacy to protect the people involved,” Umbria's ombudsman for prisoners' rights, Giuseppe Caforio, told the ANSA news agency.

“We can say that a sort of experiment went well, and in the next few days, there will be other meetings,” he added. 

Advertisment

Also read: 'First after the 1960s': New drug to treat sexually transmitted gonorrhoea

Guidelines for the room 

In January 2024, the court said inmates should have the right to private meetings with spouses or long-term partners, with no prison guards watching over them.

Advertisment

Guidelines have also been issued according to which inmates are to be granted meetings with their partner in a room with a bed and a toilet for up to two hours. 

Also read: 'Fake sex tapes, Bin Laden's demon doll, Cold war condoms': CIA's secret missions revealed in JFK files

But, the guidelines said the room's door should remain unlocked, giving prison guards the possibility to intervene if needed.

Do other countries have it? 

This is not the first time a country has given the nod to such an idea. There are multiple European countries, such as France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and others with this facility for prisoners.

Also read: Nick Carter accused of sexually assaulting and giving STD to woman in fourth such case