Featured
Whistleblowers silenced over failings in NHS pregnancy care
An Index investigation into the culture of secrecy shrouding maternity services and women’s healthcare in England
By Martin Bright
Latest news
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The week in free expression: 12–18 April 2025
Index rounds up of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression from the past seven days
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Celebrating Europe’s biggest bullies
Who’s made the most effort to throw legal threats at the little guys? A tongue-in-cheek round-up of the European SLAPP Contest 2025
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Tariffs and tight control
Chinese censors are feasting on the chaos that is Donald Trump’s trade war
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The harassment of Chinese-Australian artist, political cartoonist and activist Badiucao must end
More than 40 organisations from around the world stand in solidarity with the award-winning cartoonist
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Spotlight: Shakespeare's birthday
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Plays, protests and the censor’s pencil
Shakespeare was no stranger to censorship from the Elizabethan and Jacobean police states. Here we chart how the Bard’s plays amused monarchs and d...
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Talking censorship at the University of Essex
Trevor Phillips, chair of Index on Censorship, talked about censorship as part of the Essex Book Festival.
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Challenging authority: Shakespeare and radical theatre today
“When you hold the mirror up to nature and up to a totalitarian regime, it recognises it and attempts to stamp it out”
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Rising star: Since Chairman Mao’s ban was lifted, China has embraced Shakespeare
China has swung from banning Shakespeare to embracing his work, with performances spanning from brash pro-government productions to a Tibetan Hamlet
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MAGAZINE
LATEST ISSUE: VOLUME 54.01 SPRING 2025
The forgotten patients: Lost voices in the global healthcare system
Modern medicine is a wonderful thing. Before Edward Jenner’s development of the smallpox vaccination in 1796, infectious diseases and viruses killed millions. The introduction of anaesthetic gases during surgical procedures in 1846 eliminated the excruciating pain of surgery. And before Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928, people died unnecessarily from cuts and grazes.
But the benefits of modern medicine are not felt equally around the world. In this issue, we explore the forgotten patients in global healthcare settings – the marginalised groups who fall through the cracks or are actively shut out of healthcare provision, then ignored or silenced when they raise concerns.
Just like free speech, healthcare is an indisputable human right. But for many around the globe, both these rights are being removed in conjunction with each other. Through telling their stories, this edition aims to shine a light on these injustices and – we hope – empower more people to speak up for the right to health for themselves and others.
Uncensored gallery
Index commissions censored and exiled artists from around the world to illustrate our magazine covers and feature stories. You can view some of their work here