The situation in the north is even further complicated by things like the circuit court system, so there may be long delays.
Certainly, we've been having a national dialogue in this country recently about the many reasons that prevent women from going to police. For a woman in Clyde River—I'll pick Clyde River—every one of her relatives' homes may be crowded so that in itself can force her to stay there and put up and shut up. And from other studies in the south we know it can take 35 assaults before a woman first goes to police.
There aren't the supports. I remember appearing with Sheldon Kennedy a few weeks ago and I told the committee that we can only dream of that wraparound service. These are children who have already been assaulted. It's not preventative. It's a response. There are so many things.
Many people live in social housing and so there are tenant agreements...we've heard a lot about that from women, that they may have no choice but to leave because the rented accommodation.... And, private home ownership is the minority. Mostly it's rented accommodation, so there could be legal leasing arrangements that may allow the perpetrator to stay.
Then we have to consider all the issues of power and control and lack of options. It's a very broad question that you ask. The other thing I would really emphasize is the impact of the circuit court system and lack of access to victim supports as I've mentioned before. But I've heard women and their children need to be able to stay in their home.
There are overcrowded prisons in the north as well. The Baffin Correctional Centre has been under heavy criticism by the correctional investigator and so forth, so there may not be anywhere to remove an offender to.