A method for partially occluded object detection includes obtaining a response map for a detection window of an input image, the response map based on a trained model and including a root layer and a parts layer. The method includes determining visibility flags for each root cell of the root layer and each part of the parts layer. The visibility flag is one of visible or occluded. The method includes determining an occlusion penalty for each root cell with a visibility flag of occluded and for each part with a visibility flag of occluded. The occlusion penalty is based on a location of the root cell or the part with respect to the detection window. The method determines a detection score for the detection window based on the visibility flags and the occlusion penalties and generates an estimated visibility map for object detection based on the detection score.