Forced marriage, the abuse of elders and trafficking of children will be among the subjects discussed at a conference looking at domestic violence in Asian communities which is being held in Bradford tomorrow.

The event will give workers who deal with domestic violence on a daily basis the chance to contribute to a debate on how local and national government and other organisations can best tackle the issues.

The event will be opened by Keighley MP Ann Cryer who has campaigned against forced marriages and who has direct experience of dealing with the consequences of domestic violence in the Asian community through her own constituency office.

The high-profile conference is one of a series of six being held nationally to look at the particular challenge workers and agencies face in tackling domestic violence in Asian communities in the UK.

It is being staged by the Northern Circuit Domestic Violence Group with support from the Lord Chancellor's Department, West Yorkshire Police, the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

"We very much want to engage Asian communities and in particular, young Asians. There will be particular emphasis on hearing the voices of Asian children who have been victims and how they wish to address the issue," said a spokesman for the Lord Chancellor's Department.

Mrs Cryer said: "I hope that this will be the beginning of a more open attitude in Bradford. We're not saying that domestic violence is a greater problem in the Asian community than it is in the white community, but it is a taboo subject in the Asian community and you don't solve things by not talking about them"

She said Keighley Domestic Violence Service was doing some wonderful work in the area.

The first two conferences in the series, held in Blackburn and Brentford, had proved a huge success, said the spokesman. By the end of the six conferences, more than 2,000 people would have had chance to contribute to the debate on how to tackle domestic violence in Asian communities.

Among the speakers at the Bradford event, which is being held at the Novotel Hotel, Roysdale Way, are Rosie Winterton, a Minister in the Lord Chancellor's Department and West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn.

Workshops will be run by groups which tackle domestic violence, health workers and Government departments and will look at the obstacles which organisations face when tackling domestic violence, how to make the system more amenable and how to progress forward.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: "The Chief Constable will be talking about how the issue of domestic violence effects victims in West Yorkshire and highlighting the groundbreaking work that has been done across the force and in Bradford to tackle this sensitive issue."