While decades of advocacy and legislative reform have led to significant progress in empowering the girl child, a silent crisis is emerging in Uganda: the boy child is being left behind unnoticed, unheard, and neglected.
Across the country, boys are enduring a storm of abuse, exploitation, and emotional neglect. Many remain silent out of fear, fear of shame, disbelief, or retaliation. Others simply have no idea where to seek help.
During the Day of the African Child commemorations in June, an official from the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development acknowledged the growing concern.
“Boys across the world face serious challenges, but these often go unseen because most of the attention has been focused on the girl child,” the official said.
“This imbalance has created a gap. Boys are expected to endure abuse quietly. They grow up with trauma, with no safe spaces to express their pain.,” he added.
Fifteen-year-old Daniel Okurut from Lira shared a heartbreaking account.
“I felt like I had no one to trust. The teacher who was supposed to protect me hurt me. I was afraid to tell my parents; I thought they wouldn’t believe me or that I would bring shame.”
Daniel’s story is not unique. According to the Ministry of Education and Sports, over 18% of reported child abuse cases in schools involve boys. However, the real number is likely much higher due to under reporting. Boys often suffer physical violence, sexual exploitation, and emotional torment at the hands of trusted adults like teachers, relatives, and community leaders, but these cases rarely make headlines.
Geofrey Kayemba Solo, MP for Bukomansimbi South, highlighted how abused boys are often forced into premature adulthood, not through readiness but through trauma.
“Some boys, after being abused, are pushed into becoming ‘men’ too early. They turn to drugs, gangs, or hard labor not because they want to, but because it feels like the only way to reclaim dignity,” Kayemba Solo noted.
The Uganda Human Rights Commission has warned about the dangers of this culture of silence.
“These boys are not just physically harmed; they are emotionally abandoned by systems that ignore their suffering,” a UHRC official noted.
“The silence allows trauma to worsen and creates a cycle of abuse that continues into adulthood.”
Mental health experts are also raising alarms. The Ministry of Health has reported a 30% rise in depression cases among adolescent boys over the past five years. Suicide rates among young men are also climbing, driven by societal pressure to be tough and emotionally restrained.
“Our society tells boys not to cry, not to speak, and not to show weakness,” Dr. Etheldreda Nakimuli Mpungu, a mental health specialist at Mulago National Referral Hospital, said. “We are witnessing their internal breakdown.”
Civil society groups are now calling for balanced child protection policies.
“We are not saying take away from the girl child. We are saying, see the boy child too. When both are supported, society thrives,” Alice Namukasa child rights advocate of the Uganda Child Protection Network explained.
Minister of Gender, Labour, and Social Development Hon. Betty Amongi has acknowledged the issue and pledged reform.
“We are reviewing our child protection framework to ensure it is inclusive,” Hon. Amongi said. “Our programs must offer boys safe spaces to speak out and heal through school counseling, psycho-social support, and strong legal enforcement,” she added.
More MPs are also voicing concern. Hon. Peter Ocen (Ind. Kole South County) pointed to a growing gap in role models for boys.
“We are focusing heavily on the girl child, but our boys are going astray,’’ Hon. Ocen said.
In villages, women are now paying school fees and running households. Boys are growing up without strong male role models,” he added.
The message is clear: the boy child’s voice matters. His pain, his fears, and his future matter. If society continues to overlook him, we risk raising a generation of broken men.
It is time to break the silence. It is time to listen to the boy child.
