Not all are like that, the truth is that most come from a problem past and end up in the same pattern. I offered her the opportunity to head in a different direction but as the sayin goes "you can lead the hors to water, but you can't make them drink".
Some are just better off with someone who beats them, it makes them feel special, or maybe they have such low self-estem, they don't know better.
Had a chat with a mpa at srm, she said let me guess a black guy that sells drugs, she was stating that from her pov, most of srm mpa are in that situation,