Like many, Banaz Mahmod longed to marry for love. Instead, aged just 16 she was forced into an arranged marriage, as was customary in her Iraqi-Kurdish community. Southall Black Sisters tell Banaz’s story, and continue to fight for Banaz’s Law.
For over a decade, Lacuna Magazine has been amplifying powerful human rights storytelling from every corner of the globe. This collection from 2025 bring together an array of political writing by journalists, academics, students, activists and newer writers.
As 2025 draws to a close, the UK continues to struggle with the cost of living crisis, the rise of anti-immigration rhetoric, and a landscape where flags fly from lampposts as a symbol of division. For human rights defenders it has been a challenging year. But within these struggles there are voices of determination and resistance.
The Venezuelan displacement crisis is the largest in Latin America’s modern history. Driven by economic collapse, political repression and a breakdown of services, about eight million people – one quarter of Venezuela’s population – are now displaced globally. Here, Shandra Back captures the stories of four remarkable women from one family, each branching off from their family tree across distances previously unimaginable.
What is it like to be disabled in prison or police custody? If something goes wrong, how do you access the structures, tools and treatment you need to survive? Around 36% of UK prisoners are disabled. Journalist Kai Charles investigates their experiences, finding a pattern of neglect, denial and delay within the confines of a crumbling carceral system.
Anas al-Amarin, a young Palestinian from Gaza, uses social media to raise funds for his survival and medical care after losing his arm in an Israeli airstrike. Despite ongoing war and displacement, Anas dreams of receiving a prosthetic limb and continuing his studies, relying on international crowdfunding and online friendships to navigate the crisis.
The climate crisis poses unique challenges for disabled people around the world. Growing up in a slum in Delhi while navigating his own disabilities and his mother’s chronic illness, disability activist Puneet Singhal developed an acute understanding of climate change as structural exclusion. Here, he reflects on a series of interviews with disabled people in Delhi as part of his Green Disability campaign for climate justice and disability justice.
Volunteering in Africa, Asia or Latin America is a bucket list experience for many young people. But after spending a summer ‘helping’ at a school in South Africa, our writer reflects on their experience, asking how volunteerism – or “voluntourism” – entrenches power relations instead of altering them. They question the impact of their time at the school on local pupils and explore the effects of unilateral acts of assistance.
Many people dream of a human rights career, helping others and creating change, but how do you take the first steps? We asked human rights lawyers, humanitarians and journalists to tell us about essential qualifications and experience, and offer valuable advice to students just starting out.
