Domestic assualt against male victims is rare, but it happens more often than people may realize, officials said.

Such an incident occurred Monday when Dana Fullhart, 1005 Harding Ave., reported to police that he had been assaulted after his wife, Christine Fullhart, hit him while he was driving. Iowa State Department of Public Safety Director Loras Jaeger said calls from male assault victims are “very infrequent.”

“I can’t remember last time it happened, but it does happen,” he said.

There are more unreported assaults from both sexes, but the majority of them are women, Jaeger said. “There’s a significantly higher percentage of women being abused by men than men being abused by women,” he said. Jaeger said the reason men will not report being an assault victim has to do with the stigma society has placed on the male sex.

“The reason men will not report being a victim is the same reason that a male will not report being sexually assaulted,” he said. “There’s a stigma in society of men being more masculine and being able to defend themselves. There’s also the fear of being ridiculed by their peers and the threat that the criminal justice system will not treat them fairly.”

Ames Police Sgt. Jim Robinson said no matter who the victim is, the assailant must be arrested by law.

“Both males and females can be arrested,” he said. “In the past, an officer couldn’t make an arrest because the spouse did not wish to file the charges. The law was changed so an officer could make an arrest.”

Robinson said when an officer responds to a call, an arrest is mandatory, especially if there is physical evidence of a struggle.

However, in the Fullharts’ case, the incident was reported the day after it occurred, which did not allow an officer to make an arrest at the scene. Although many assaults go unreported to police, Robinson said hospital records may indicate whether a person may have been a victim.

Jaeger said the laws in the state of Iowa regarding assault are the same, whether a person is male or female.