TORONTO, August 19, 1996--Parents, educators, police and social workers will gather at York University's Vari Hall August 19-21 for Putting the Brakes on Violence, a conference aimed at providing an international perspective on the causes -- and solutions -- to violence in the home, at school and in the community.

The event is jointly sponsored by the LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution at York University, the Faculty of Education at York University, and the North York Board of Education.

The conference covers the spectrum of violence. Keynote addresses examine racism and violence, sex differences in physical, verbal, and indirect aggression, what schools and parents can do to eliminate violence, systemic racism in Ontario's criminal justice system, and what's happening in Australia and England to prevent bullying. Session topics also look at violence in relation to the media, homosexuality, gangs and sexual harrassment.

The conference agenda is attached.

For more information, contact:
Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor for Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, x 22087
YU/040/96