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How Lukashenka uses healthcare against political prisoners
On the International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus, Index explores how healthcare is being used as a weapon to silence dissidents in the authoritarian state
Latest news
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Ten years in Saudi prison for a tweet
British national Ahmed al-Doush has been sentenced over a seven-year-old deleted post
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The week in free expression: 10–16 May 2025
Index rounds up of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression from the past seven days
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Donna Ockenden: “There has got to be an absolute commitment to listening to women”
The senior midwife speaks to Index about the culture of silence surrounding maternity care failures in the National Health Service
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Annabel Sowemimo on the silent killer in the NHS
The doctor, writer and activist discusses the difficulties of speaking out against institutional racism in UK healthcare settings
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Spotlight: International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
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Banned: school librarians shushed over LGBT+ books
A special investigation reveals more than half of UK school librarians surveyed by Index have been asked to remove books from their shelves
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Calls to sanction architects of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act grow
Uganda's LGBTQ+ community live in fear for their lives following the passage of draconian legislation in Uganda last year. The international commun...
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Botswana’s trans activists battling silence with creativity
Botswana has made progress on LGBTQ+ rights, but many still feel silenced. A growing movement of activists are using art as a vehicle for change
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Fifty years of Pride and prejudice
Pride started as a way to give voice to the silenced, but it lost its way. Ahead of its 50th anniversary, a new protest movement has emerged
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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