Uganda

Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army conflict (1987-2006) produced some of the most disturbing male trauma in modern history. Joseph Kony's forces kidnapped an estimated 66,000 children, primarily boys, forcing them to kill family members as initiation and turning them into soldiers. These men — now in their 30s and 40s — live in communities alongside the families they were forced to victimize, carrying guilt, rage, and trauma that the country's minimal mental health infrastructure cannot begin to address. The cultural response has been forgiveness rituals (mato oput) that are meaningful but insufficient for the scale of psychological damage.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act has created a masculine crisis that extends far beyond the LGBTQ community. In a culture where male friendship is now scrutinized for "homosexual tendencies," men have withdrawn from each other — reducing physical affection, avoiding one-on-one time, and self-policing to avoid suspicion. This legislation, championed by American-funded evangelical organizations, has paradoxically made all Ugandan men less free to connect with each other. The boda-boda economy — the motorcycle taxis that employ hundreds of thousands of young men — kills and maims men at staggering rates but provides the only accessible employment for men without education or connections.