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Given that victim' risk perception could improve risk assessment in cases of intimate partner violence research is paying attention to it. However, it is not clear whether perceived risk relates to safety-related behaviors. This study is aimed to analyze how perceived risk by women who have left a violent partner relates to their safety-related behaviors and post-separation violence. Participants were 249 women (from protection services and the community) who had concluded a violent relationship. A structural equation model describes the relationships between three groups of factors: (1) women's risk perception; (2) three types of conditions that increase the opportunity for victim/abuser contact: (a) women's actions that make them easier to track, (b) women's reasons for not protecting themselves, and (c) batterers' strategies to gain access to their former intimate partners; and (3) post-separation violence. Results indicate that psychological violence is positively related to perceived risk and helplessness. Moreover, while women's risk perception predicts less contact and self-deception, male strategies predict greater contact and routines. In turn, contact predicts intimacy, whose absence fully accounts for 93.3% of the prediction of no re-abuse, six months later. The results' implications for intervention are discussed.

This qualitative study explores the opinions of professionals on the causes of femicide in Spain through a structured interview with open questions. The participants were 29 professionals from various agencies for women’s protection, police services and law courts (Tenerife, Canary Islands). Participants gave their views on four main topics: (a) opinions on intimate partner violence and femicide, (b) opinions on women who suffer violence, (c) opinions on offenders, and (d) opinions concerning the protection system. These professionals described a complex reality and pointed out several weaknesses in the system. Findings have implications for policies intended to combat gender-based violence.

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Este artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación cualitativa sobre las expectativas de estudiantes de Trabajo Social sobre su actuación futura en los contextos de violencia familiar y de género. Participaron 59 estudiantes del último año del Grado en Trabajo Social de la Universidad de La Laguna, España, quienes revelaron que el trabajo con víctimas y supervivientes de violencia familiar y de pareja presenta una serie de exigencias y retos para los trabajadores y las trabajadoras sociales. Se concluye con recomendaciones para la docencia, la investigación y la práctica profesional en este ámbito de trabajo.