Agnes Wanjiru: Photograph of the hands of Esther Njoki arranging photographs of her aunt Agnes Wanjiru at her family's home in Nanyuki.
Justice

Agnes Wanjiru: What does her family’s fight for justice reveal about the legacy of colonialism?

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.   

June 9, 2026

illustration of a small boat amidst raging waves
Migration

Small boats: Can migration fiction broaden Britain’s rhetoric on refugees?

“Immigration” has long been a hot button topic in Britain but it now looks increasingly likely to determine the next election. Where political debate and media coverage too often simplify the refugee experience, could fiction offer greater depth? Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi considers the current rhetoric and examines three migration literature novels that engage deeply with the notion of borders.

May 22, 2026

Migration

‘New Scots’: Meet the refugees who have made Scotland their home

Refugees from Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Ukraine have successfully integrated into local communities across the length and breadth of Scotland. ‘New Scots’, a two-year project by photographer Angie Catlin and the Scottish Refugee Council, shares their stories. At a time of increasingly toxic debate over asylum seekers and refugees in the UK, the project shows the positive contribution refugees bring to their new communities.  

May 7, 2026

Photograph of Dolo, a refugee who came from Somalia via Kenya with her grandson Ahmed, in Edinburgh

Justice

9 human rights stories from the Lacuna Writing Competition

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

June 25, 2026

Writing Wrongs

Justice

Taylor Atkinson: A reminder of the ongoing political failure of the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) scheme

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. 

April 16, 2026

War & Peace

​​The toll of war on Gaza’s autistic children: ​A sister shares her brother’s struggles ​

​​​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. ​​ 

March 31, 2026

#ChefsforGaza: Speaking with locals in northern Gaza From World Central Kitchen via Flickr

New writers

Lacuna Writing Competition

Justice

The women facing India’s marital rape crisis – and the campaign to change the law left by the British Empire

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 »

January 27, 2026

Saree fabric - Marital Rape in India by Urmi Bhattacheryya

Economy

Leaving Venezuela: Four stories of Venezuela’s displacement crisis from the diaspora

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.

October 22, 2025

Stories from Palestine