Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi is a reporter, editor & writer. Co-edits Shine a Light. Writer in residence for Lacuna magazine. Twice shortlisted for Orwell Prize. Winner of Scottish Refuge Council media award and Write to End Violence Against Women award. Tweets @Rebecca_Omonira

The human beings that UK government ‘forgot’

As David Cameron’s panicked government puts on a compassionate face, we meet people harmed by punitive policies.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 23 Mar 2016

Remembering Sarah Reed

Beaten by a Metropolitan police officer in 2012. Found dead in a prison cell in 2016. Sarah Reed, a black woman, mother, daughter, sister, whose smile could light up a room.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi and Wasi Daniju

/ 13 Feb 2016

How mental health services fail young people and what can be done about it

Slashed budgets, stressed workers and young people in desperate need across England and Wales. Something’s got to give.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 13 Oct 2015

Squandered lives: Why is it so hard for young people to find decent mental health care?

Vulnerable young people suffering from mental illness are not getting the help that they need. Kesia’s story.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 12 Oct 2015

Why are so many people being evicted in Coalition Britain?

Caught in a collision of unemployment, precarious jobs and reduced public services. Part three of our series on the housing crisis: Losing your home.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 6 May 2015

Losing your home: Simon’s story

After caring for his elderly mother a 50-year-old builder faces eviction from a council flat. Part two of our three part series on Coalition Britain’s housing crisis.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 5 May 2015

Losing your home: one day at Coventry County Court

Growing numbers of working class people face the nightmare of eviction. Part one of a three part series on housing in Coalition Britain.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 4 May 2015

Lampedusa: Never again

The terrible migrant deaths off the Italian island have evoked horror across the continent. In a small camp in France, Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi talks to fellow countrymen and women who have survived: their hopes, dreams, and learning to feel unwelcome in Europe.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 20 Apr 2015

UK immigration detention: the truth is out

Successive governments have ignored and dismissed complaints of suffering in UK immigration lock-ups. This week, in Parliament and on national television, fresh evidence has been heard.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 5 Mar 2015

Black and dangerous? Listening to patients’ experiences of mental health services in London

Why are black people with mental health problems still more likely than whites to be heavily medicated, restrained and detained against their will?

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 30 Sep 2014

Down the rabbit hole: Single parenthood in austerity Britain

Last Summer we published a piece about the lives of lone parents that provoked an extraordinary response. One parent who made contact with author Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi was Angela:

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 26 May 2014

Rats in the lunchbox, mould in the mattress: living in squalor in London

In three decades a social welfare advisor has not seen the levels of poverty that are routine today. Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi listens to the stories of Londoners who struggle to survive.

By Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi

/ 14 May 2014