A LOT of myth and misunderstanding has grown up surrounding the steps that precede marriage for a number of people of Asian descent.

Arranged marriages, where a couple's families play a part by bringing them together, are a widely accepted part of life for many.

It is a system which has been in operation for many, many years and the crucial point is that there is mutual consent from two adults - the bride and bridegroom - to events leading up to their wedding.

The couple get to know each other under the eyes of their respective families and those who advocate the arranged marriage system claim that careful planning to match couples actually results in fewer breakdowns than in the rest of our society where divorce rates are rocketing.

This is a very different matter to forced marriages which were put in the spotlight yesterday at a forum in Blackburn.

As the term implies forced marriages happen when one party does not consent.

The forum was told that they often involve women, who have been born and brought up in this country, being told they are going to somewhere like Pakistan for a holiday.

On arrival they find themselves they have been tricked and are being forced to marry someone they have never met before.

Lancashire's Deputy Chief Constable Paul Stephenson said officers in the division which covers Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley were made aware of at least one forced marriage every week.

The Foreign Office deals with 200 each year - the bulk of them in Pakistan.

Not surprisingly the future prospects for a marriage which begins in such an atmosphere of mistrust are not good. Fear, isolation and even suicide often follow.

As Mr Stephenson points out there is a proven link between forced marriages and domestic violence.

With all this in mind it is vital that police and civil servants do everything they can to prevent the human rights of young men and women being abused - even if it is by members of their own families. And that can only happen by ensuring an end to all forced marriages.