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File this one under Sisyphean tasks: The government of Iceland is drafting plans to ban pornography both online and in print.

Supporters of the ban, proposed by Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson, says it will shield children from harm.

Writing in the Guardian, Halla Gunnarsdottir, political adviser to Jonasson, said:

"The ministry's initiative emerges from an extensive consultation process on sexual violence, encompassing police, child protection specialists, lawyers and academic researchers. The experts raised concerns about the effects of porn on the nature – and possibly the scope – of sexual violence in Iceland. Research has also shown that children in Iceland are first exposed to pornography at the average age of 11. In some instances, children have been dramatically affected by it, and symptoms include social isolation and anxiety. There have also been reported cases of teenage boys re-enacting pornographic sexual acts on younger children. Finally, violent pornography is influencing teenagers' first sexual experiences."