The option of choice is not there. Most of the time when we hear or when we read about, or when we put on the television, we find out about the issue of conjugal violence because we have the door of entry which is language, either French or English.
Imagine when you live a situation of violence and the victim is encircled by that situation of abuse, which is all the various forms that abuse can have. The woman is also encircled by a circle of powerlessness, because she doesn't have the language skills. She doesn't know the system. She doesn't know where she can go for assistance. She doesn't even know that she is a victim most of the time.
This comes out a lot in the outreach sessions we do, because after we explain what the cycle is and the types of abuse, women begin to say, “Oh, I'm a victim. I'm not crazy. I'm a victim of conjugal violence.” When the woman is a victim, who doesn't speak the language, and is encircled, not only with the violence but all the blockages that keep her from making a choice, this is what we mean. How equitable is her situation in terms of somebody else who does speak the language?