Government is being urged to adopt a pioneering approach to tackle the rising rate of violent crime against women by their husbands and boyfriends.

Both the Women's Resource Centre and the Women's Advisory Council want Government to follow the approach taken by the American town of Quincy, Massachusetts to combat violence in the home.

And WRC chairperson Mrs. Shanda Simmons said assaults on women by boyfriends or husbands had been swept under the carpet for too long.

The centre wants to see the word "domestic'' -- which Mrs. Simmons felt implied "tame'' -- no longer used to describe incidents of family violence.

It wants the responsibility of pressing charges taken out of the woman's hands. And it is seeking to hire a community educator to speak on the issue at schools and in the workplace.

Yesterday the Opposition applauded efforts by both groups to tackle the upsurge in domestic violence, saying little had been done to help Bermuda's battered women.

But Community Affairs Minister the Hon. Leonard Gibbons pointed out Government's Employee Assistance Programme, which addresses family problems, had been in place for five years now. However he too backed the action taken by both watchdogs.

Progressive Labour Party spokesman for Social Services Mr. Nelson Bascome said the earlier the Quincy programme was implemented the better.

"What has actually been done to combat the problems?'' he asked. "I have never seen any legislation dealing with domestic violence or the total family unit.'' He noted there had not been a marriage counsellor at the Social Services Department since the service was cut from the Budget three years ago.

Mrs. Simmons said the town of Quincy had made domestic violence the entire community's problem.

"The town went back and trained Police, lawyers and judges in dealing with domestic violence,'' she said.

"It took the responsibility of pressing charges out of the victim's hands.

And it puts both the male and female in counselling sessions.'' Mrs. Simmons believed that if pressing charges against men who beat women was "the Country's policy'', incidents would decrease and families would be more stable.

She noted that in Bermuda, incidents of men beating their girlfriends or wives were already spilling out onto the streets.

"We believe domestic violence has been horrible in Bermuda for quite a long time,'' Mrs. Simmons said. "People have just tried to sweep it under the carpet, saying `it's not my problem'.

"Only now, we are reaching the point where it is not just in the home, it is on the streets and at the neighbour's.'' Commenting on a case this weekend which involved an alleged attack on a pregnant women, she said: "More abuse occurs against pregnant women than at any other time. And a lot of children born with disabilities are a result of their mothers being battered.'' She added the courts were still treating domestic violence cases with "kid gloves'' when they should be treating them "far more harshly because they involved the family''.

Quincy's system was voted one of 15 of America's most effective battered women programmes and has become a national model.

It was the focus of a recent episode on the popular US television show 60 Minutes and an article in the Boston Globe newspaper.

According to the newspaper, the town believes it is saving lives by providing victims of domestic violence with "the most comprehensive and coordinated assistance in the state''.

Not a single domestic violence homicide has occurred in Quincy in the last five years, it noted.

Police in the town, after undergoing extensive training, no longer view domestic violence as a private matter as the name suggests.

Every single report of a family disturbance in Quincy, however serious, is handed over to the district attorney's Domestic Violence Unit, which provides counsellors and follows up on all cases.

And all domestic violence cases investigated by Quincy Police must go to court whether or not the victim presses charges.

The Royal Gazette learned of the Quincy programme on Monday.

Women's Advisory Council chairwoman Mrs. Kim Young had confirmed meetings were taking place between the council, the Women's Resource Centre and Police Commissioner Mr. Lenny Edwards in an effort to get them to institute the programme.

Meanwhile, Police Community and Juvenile Department head Insp. Gertrude Barker warned violence in the home was on the rise and getting nastier. Her comments were made following a spate of assaults on women this weekend by their boyfriends.