LOCAL COUNSELOR AT INTERNATIONAL ABUSE SEMINAR

As a longtime psychotherapist, Shelby Kneer was used to dealing with victims of domestic violence.

But even dealing with her female clients wasn't enough to prepare her for the shocking statistics revealed at a recent summit on the subject.

Zonta International sponsored the meeting in Tyson's Corner, Va., just outside Washington, and invited law enforcement officials, therapists, legislators, doctors and others to brainstorm about how to end abuse of women.

According to a national clearinghouse for information about domestic violence:

-- Every 15 seconds, a woman in the U.S. is battered by her husband, boyfriend or live-in partner.

-- Fifteen to 20 percent of pregnant woman are battered.

-- Twenty-two to 35 percent of women who visit emergency rooms are there for injuries related to ongoing abuse.

The Zonta International Summit on Violence Against Women explored the causes, costs and consequences of the problem.

Summit organizers said it was important to study the topic because when one woman is brought down all women are brought down, and silence on the topic is a form of consent.

Kneer was able to attend after winning a Zonta-sponsored essay contest. She wrote about the need for more resources in the area to deal with domestic violence. As a supervising counselor at Community Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau, she has seen firsthand the problems caused by limited resources.

Zonta, a worldwide service organization for women, and CCC sponsored her trip to the summit.

"I think, more and more, we are realizing that we can't let abusers off the hook and just say they are ill," Kneer said. "We are stressing that they are responsible for their actions."

Kneer hopes to share the information she learned with other organizations in the area and welcomes invitations to speak with various groups. She will continue meeting with area professionals to form a coalition to combat the problem of abuse.