The Home Office has launched a range of plans designed to improve the protection of vulnerable women.

Among the proposals set out by David Blunkett on Wednesday were measures designed to clamp down on forced marriages.

More than 1,000 cases of forced marriage have been discovered by a Foreign Office unit in the past three years.

There was also a pledge to get tough on domestic violence, while ministers also highlighted their plans to overhaul the laws on prostitution.

The latest raft of announcements comes a day after senior government figures, including chancellor Gordon Brown and trade secretary Patricia Hewitt, backed measures to tackle sex discrimination in the workplace.

Under plans floated by the home secretary, forcing someone into marriage could become a criminal offence.

There will also be a new joint Home Office and Foreign Office forced marriage unit, and forced marriage will also be targeted in revised guidance on the welfare of children.

It was also announced that the minimum age for marriage entry clearance will be raised from 16 to 18.

"Forced marriage is simply an abuse of human rights," said Blunkett.

"It is a form of domestic violence that dehumanises people by denying them their right to choose how to live their lives.

"Valuing individual citizens, their dignity and the contribution they have to make to society in their own right is a central part of our drive for strong, active communities.

"The appalling practice of forced marriage represents the opposite extreme and that is why government is taking tough action to eradicate it."

Blunkett also confirmed that the government is determined to overhaul domestic violence law and give increased powers to the police and the courts to protect victims and prosecute abusers.

He said that legislation passing through parliament "signals our commitment to tackle domestic violence and sends out the strong message that it is never acceptable".

Meanwhile, Home Office minister Caroline Flint highlighted the government's determination "to combat the stranglehold of pimps" on prostitution.

She said ministers also wanted to break the links between prostitution and drug markets, trafficking and other areas of organised crime.

"The realities of prostitution for those involved and for the wider community are often brutal," added Flint.

"It involves the abuse of children - as many as 70 per cent of women on the streets were coerced into prostitution as young people - and serious exploitation of adults.

"Violence, organised crime and problematic drug use are common features - as many as 90 per cent of those involved in street prostitution have a Class A drug habit."