Dating violence is not recognized in discussions about domestic abuse, experts said.

A panel of lawyers and legal aid representatives addressed this concern, stating education is the key to solving this problem.

The panel spoke to an audience of about 40 people in Mackay 213 Tuesday.

Martha Dettman, graduate student in sociology, organized the panel to educate her Sociology 219 class and other attendees about the problem of spousal and dating abuse.

Dettman brought in representatives from the Story County Attorney’s office, Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support (ACCESS) and the Legal Aid Society of Story County. There were variety of speakers, she said, to give the audience a “holistic view” of how professionals in the field deal with domestic violence.

“I feel it’s a really widespread issue,” Dettman said.

A woman is beaten every nine seconds in the United States and between three to four million are battered every year, according to the American Institute on Domestic Violence.

Dettman said the most important subject touched upon in the panel was dating violence.

“We need to educate people at a young age about healthy and unhealthy relationships,” Dettman said.

Jay Kamath, attorney with the Legal Aid Society, said domestic abuse is not limited to just marriage relationships.

“Domestic abuse is equally as frequent in couples who are dating and couples who are married,” she said.

Sara Thomsen, court systems coordinator for ACCESS, said the one thing unique to dating violence is peer pressure.

When in a dating relationship, people may feel pressured to stay with someone who is abusive to avoid being shunned because they are single, Thomsen said.

Cathy Vincent, victim witness coordinator with the Story County Attorney’s office, said weapon use is causing domestic assault to become more violent.

Kamath said female aggressors may use weapons such as cars to carry out their abuse.

Thomsen agreed.

“Females may get more serious misdemeanors because they might have to use a weapon to be threatening,” Thomsen said.

In general, Kamath said abusers tend to be male.

Kamath said of the 90 cases his office handled this fiscal year, 88 of the victims were females.

Victims of abuse should confide in someone they trust so a witness is available if ever needed, Kamath said.

“Listen, don’t judge. Don’t give advice, just listen,” Thomsen said. “On average it takes a person seven times to leave a relationship.”

There are also shelters which victims can go to, Thomsen said. There are roughly 50 shelters available in Iowa, she said.