By Ellen Bardash, The Daily Republic, October 17, 2019
Among the usual crowd of khaki and red outfits at the South Dakota Women's Prison, hints of purple were seen on staff and incarcerated women alike on Thursday.
In the middle of National Domestic Violence Month, the small purple ribbons many wore were in honor of the first domestic and sexual violence-focused event held at the prison. Known as the Empowerment Campaign, the event at the Pierre facility brought in several people with expertise in childhood trauma, human trafficking, prostitution and other areas that disproportionately affect women.
Warden Wanda Markland, who said she has been working on holding more events at the prison since she took over the position last year, said she selected domestic violence as a focus because it's something that likely affected everyone who opted to attend to some extent and has played a role in what led many of the women into the correctional system.
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