RESUMO
The objective of this study are (a) to explore the factors, which facilitate or inhibit women's responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) and their ability to leave a violent relationship; (b) to identify patterns of behavior in abused women based on their perception of the violence and the actions they take to find help or a solution to the problems derived from IPV. Semistructured interviews were carried out. The critical path is defined as the sequence of decisions and actions taken by affected women to address the violence they experienced. Based on this concept, we identified several factors that affect women's responses to violence, and categorized them into inhibiting and facilitating factors. We also identified three patterns of behavior: the first one is theoretically as the ideal critical path, whereas in the third pattern the process is less like the ideal critical path.