Cross-sectional study compares the perception and attitudes about violence against women of physicians and nurses working in the primary health care clinics in Ribeir？o Preto, SP. A total of 170 physicians and 51 nurses were interviewed in the District Health Clinics. Physicians feel more comfortable than nurses to talk about the sex life of patients ( ) and to investigate the use of drugs (0.001). Compared to the nurses greater number of physicians believed that the aggression to the woman by the husband should be treated as a medical problem ( ). Both believe that external factors, as alcohol or drug abuse, unemployment, and psychological problems of the husband and not of the victim, can cause violent acts. Most interviewees understand that gender violence exceeds the issues of individuality and privacy and has become a public health problem, by the dimension present in the social relationships. 1. Introduction From the 1970s, violence against women (VAW) has become increasingly visible in Brazilian society. Since 1990, VAW is considered a topic of study and intervention in health assistance [1], and, as a reflection of national and international conventions, it is now considered a fundamental human right [2–7]. Data from the World Bank show that domestic violence affects about 25% to 50% of women in Latin America, with costs of approximately 14.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which means US $ 168 billion [8]. In Brazil, it is estimated that every 15 seconds a woman is raped, usually in their home by a person who keeps loving relationship, and 70% of crimes against women happen at home and domestic violence costs to the country about 10, 5% of its GDP [8]. Although the national political scene is favorable to combat VAW [9–11], its resolution involves the training of professionals who deal daily with these women. Even today, the use of health services by women in situations of violence, although frequent, is not very resolute, and most time it is ignored. For professionals, those cases are causes for frustration and sense of impotence [12], and this demand generates high costs with little result for the health system. Several factors have been identified as barriers to the recognition of VAW by health professionals, such as lack of training to identify women subjected to violence, ignorance about the handling of cases, feelings of insecurity when dealing with the problem, and little support for the victims [13, 14]. Adequate assistance is hindered by the spread of the erroneous idea that intimate partner violence is a private matter that should
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