Missourian: Breaking the Cycle: Fulton’s First All-Female Program Works to Address Recidivism

Dixie Parks said she was 12 years old when she shot her father in self-defense. It landed her in youth centers that medicated her to calm her down. Age 17 marked the start of a decade of abuse by another man, Parks recalled. “I’ve been whipped by belts; I’ve been doused in gas; I’ve been stabbed numerous times,” Parks said. “I just got stabbed this past August. That’s when I had enough,” she said. “He stabbed me with a fork, and I’m like, ‘He literally stuck a fork in me, and I’m done.’” The past few years for Parks, who is now 30, have been riddled with drug use and criminal charges.