Access Denied

Censorship blocking information to children on sex, drugs, politics and other issues is doing more harm than good, says Child Rights International Network (CRIN) in a new policy paper. Sex education, sexuality (particularly that of LGBT people, women and disabled people) and drugs are the main issues that children are routinely denied information about, according to the paper. However, 30 years after George Orwell’s novel 1984 was set, the overuse of internet filters and national agendas also mean that children are often unable to access information about campaigning and politics, and in some countries receive an overtly biased account of history in school textbooks.