“How can I focus on the laws of physics or the rules of language when the sound of gunfire or raids fills the classroom?” As conflict tightens its grip on the West Bank, classrooms are becoming frontlines of a quieter crisis: the erosion of education. For students like 17-year-old Ahmad Haje, daily life is shaped by checkpoints, raids and fear, forcing learning under constant violence, disruption and uncertainty.
In April 2025, a parade of 50 bulldozers carried out a forced demolition of 2,000 homes, referred to as “encroachments”, around Chandola Lake, in Ahmedabad, India. Bangali Vas wasn’t the first poor Muslim community to be reduced to rubble, and critics have questioned the legality and morality of such forced demolitions which reflect a move in India to target Muslims, with many labelled “Bangladeshi” despite being Indian citizens. Based on a web of news reports, this story highlights the people at the heart of these communities.
Agnes Wanjiru went missing 14 years ago. Two months later, her body was pulled from a septic tank. Now, Robert James Purkiss could become the first British soldier in history to face trial abroad for the killing of a civilian. Agnes’s niece, Esther Njoki, says the case goes far beyond one unresolved murder, uncovering an arrangement that has ensured British military presence in Kenya since independence and shielded British soldiers from the reach of Kenyan law.
When Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) was introduced in 2005 by a “tough on crime” Labour government, it was expected the indeterminate sentence would be rarely handed out. But when the highly criticised scheme was abolished in 2012, 6,000 people were still serving their sentence – and 900 remain imprisoned today. IPP’s indefinite sentences have taken a devastating toll on the health of prisoners, including Taylor Atkinson, who was originally sentenced to less than four years, but ended his life after being held for more than 13.
When Israeli bombardment and repeated displacements turn normal life upside down, how do autistic and non-verbal children in Palestine cope? In Gaza, one older sister shares the experiences of her autistic teenage brother as the family faces first confinement and then upheaval, eventually turning to social media to raise vital funds.
Lacuna Magazine is always proud to feature human rights stories by new writers, alongside articles and photography by established and award-winning journalists from around theworld. The Lacuna Writing Competition is an annual opportunity organised by the Centre for Human Rights in Practice, open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Warwick Law School. Students can submit a short piece of journalism, creative writing, memoir or some other artistic expression that appeals to the general public, on a current issue of their choosing that includes themes of injustice and human rights. Below you can find the piece by our 2025-26 competition winner, Balsher Singh Tiwana, along with other stories from our previous winners and runners-up
In India, marital rape is a crime that the law refuses to acknowledge. Hearing the voices of victim/survivors across class, caste and geography, this story traces the British colonial roots of the legal system that fails to criminalise rape within marriage, leaving lasting damage and stripping thousands of women of justice. Ten o’clock on an autumn night, tepid, clammy. My… Read more »
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.
