Background:

domestic violence is a public health problem. Family nurses, as privileged contact with women and families, can play an important role in the prevention and approach to women victims of violence.

Objective:

identify knowledge, attitudes and barriers of family nurses in the approach of women victims of domestic violence.

Methodology:

quantitative, exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional design, in a non-probabilistic sample for convenience, consisting of fifty family nurses. The data collection instrument was a self-administered questionnaire. For data analysis, software QDA Miner 4 Lite and IBM SPSS Statistic, version 21.0, were used.

Results:

of the participants, 78% report having no training on domestic violence and report lack of knowledge about it, recognizing, however, that the identification and referral of victims is the responsibility of health professionals. They point out as main barriers the lack of action and regulation protocols that legitimize their intervention and, to a lesser extent, the lack of knowledge / training to approach the victim.

Conclusion:

it is therefore necessary to measure the needs at the level of pre- and post-graduate training, infusing this theme in the curricula and thus training current and future professionals in the identification and approach to women victims of domestic violence.