the 1990s have led the Department of Family Services to put on a conference this month to give Bermuda a "wake-up call''.

Several leading US experts on violent crimes will speak at the national conference entitled, "Blow the Whistle on Violence''.

Child and Family Services director Mrs. Luelle Todd said yesterday the conference was "long overdue''.

"Our social workers, the Police and all in this community who work daily to resolve some of causes and effects of violence welcome this opportunity to explore all dimensions of this problem -- prevention, intervention and treatment,'' she said.

She hoped a broad cross-section of Bermudians would attend to help "set in motion some measures for stopping the violence''.

Local women's groups said they planned to use the conference to push for "major'' legal changes to tackle domestic violence.

The Women's Resource Centre (WRC), the Physical Abuse Centre and the Coalition for the Protection of Children have thrown their support behind adoption of the Quincy Model which tackles domestic violence by giving Police the power to prosecute regardless of what the victim says and to put men who breach restraining orders immediately in jail.

The overall aim of the conference is to come up with a "firm and clear action plan to reduce violence in Bermuda'', a brochure for the January 30-February 3 conference says.

"In sports a referee blows the whistle to stop the play. It's time Bermuda stopped playing games with violence in our community.'' The fact that reports of child abuse in Bermuda have almost quadrupled in the past seven years, or that women here are four times more likely to be attacked by someone they know than a stranger, are only two of the new statistics alarming social workers.

Others include: A violent crime is reported to Police every 10 hours in Bermuda.

Half the reports of child sex abuse in 1993 involved children less than four years old.

Most reports of physical abuse of local children involve parents and caretakers.

Every month in Bermuda, an average of seven women and ten children flee their homes to seek refuge from domestic violence. In addition 26 battered women call the Physical Abuse Centre for help.

Only one third of battered women who call for help report the beatings to Police.

In the past five years, under-21-year-olds have been responsible for an increasing percentage of violent crimes committed in Bermuda.

Coalition chairperson Mrs. Sheelagh Cooper noted the further statistic that children were involved either as victims or witnesses in the majority of the 1,500 domestic complaints Police dealt with last year.

Social workers, teachers, parents, church leaders and all concerned citizens are invited to attend the conference.

Among the presenters are co-founders of the Chicago Youth Violence Project Dr.

Candice Kane, who is an expert on juvenile and gang violence, and Dr. Thomas Regulus, a consultant on youth violence and race issues for the governments of the US and West Indies. Also speaking are Howard University professor and violence prevention consultant Dr. Beverly Coleman-Miller, and Massachusetts district attorney and domestic violence expert Mr. William Delahunt.

Mr. Delahunt, Mrs. Marianne Hinkle and WRC representatives will be discussing the pioneering Quincy Model.

The WRC's Miss Daniels said a "major change in law'' and an "extensive public education programme'' were required to combat domestic violence in Bermuda, adding that the necessary public and private services to deal with it were already in place.

Adoption of a domestic abuse policy similar to the Quincy Model would achieve this. The model has been advocated by the WRC for the past two years, Miss Daniels said.

Human Affairs Minister the Hon. Jerome Dill announced in Parliament late last year that Government was "joining forces with women's organisations'' to address domestic violence.

He was awaiting a report from the Women's Advisory Council and plans to take a "comprehensive plan'' for combating domestic abuse to the House of Assembly hopefully before the summer.

"It is a matter of the utmost priority,'' he said.

He declined to discuss what was being considered, but said: "Certain existing laws need amending.''