POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 83 continued Barriers to Leaving The following are some barriers to leaving: • Limited access to information (e.g. legal rights) and support services (e.g. transition houses, crisis centres) for women in isolated and minority communities. • Lack of transportation services. • Loss of kinship ties, support network, cultural community, and sense of identity. • Strong community loyalities and distrust of other systems. If services are accessible, women often face other barriers and concerns, including: • Fear of being misunderstood by support staff. • Lack of resources for treatment or support. • Feeling that services are not suited to their culture. • Misunderstanding and/or fear of the justice system and law enforcement officials. • Lack of anonymity in seeking services on reserves, which are usually very small communities. • Reluctance to involve a justice system that is seen as racist. Aboriginal Communities Although woman abuse occurs in all cultural, racial, and religious groups, women in Aboriginal communities face a number of additional difficulties when they want to get support or leave an abusive situation. Women who must leave their community often experience the distress of having to abandon their support systems, kinship, and cultural roots. Designed by Freepik
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