Fact vs Fiction: Debunking the Myths Behind Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023

When Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) 2023 was signed into law, it was framed as a moral shield meant to “protect children”, “defend the traditional family”, and “preserve Ugandan culture”. In reality, the Act is built on claims that collapse under even the lightest scrutiny. This is not a debate about values. It is a matter of evidence.

Decades of global research show that the foundations of the Act are rooted in misinformation, moral panic, and political scapegoating rather than science or social reality.

Below, UmojaPride breaks down the most common myths used to justify this draconian law, and the facts that dismantle them.

Myth 1: LGBTQ+ People Threaten the “Traditional Family”

The claim: Same-sex relationships weaken heterosexual marriage and family life.

The facts: There is no evidence that LGBTQ+ relationships damage heterosexual families. In fact, large-scale studies across the United States, Europe, and OECD countries show that recognising same-sex relationships has no impact on marriage rates, divorce rates, or family stability among heterosexual couples (Carpenter et al., 2021; Trandafir, 2015). In some cases, divorce rates even declined following marriage equality reforms.

Countries like Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands demonstrate the same reality: heterosexual families continue to exist, marry, have children, and thrive regardless of whether LGBTQ+ people are allowed dignity and legal recognition (Badgett, 2020). Extending relationship recognition to same-sex couples did not alter non-marital birth rate trends or the proportion of children born to unmarried heterosexual parents.

MythBusted: The idea that LGBTQ+ existence threatens families is not evidence-based. It is fear-based.

Myth 2: LGBTQ+ People Endanger Children

The claim: Children must be “protected” from homosexuality.

The facts: Children are not endangered by LGBTQ+ people—but they are endangered by stigma, violence, and state-sanctioned hatred.

Over 30 years of peer-reviewed research confirms that children raised by same-sex parents are just as healthy, stable, and well-adjusted as those raised by heterosexual parents (Patterson, 2022). Longitudinal studies following children into adolescence show equal or better outcomes in emotional wellbeing, social competence, and academic performance (Gartrell & Bos, 2010).

Even more damning is the misuse of child protection rhetoric. Extensive evidence shows that the vast majority of child sexual abuse is committed by heterosexual adults known to the child, often within family or trusted social environments and not by LGBTQ+ people (Jenny et al., 1994; Barth et al., 2013).

Myth Busted: Using children as a justification for criminalising LGBTQ+ identities is not protection. It is political manipulation.

Myth 3: Homosexuality Is a Choice or a Foreign Influence

The claim: Same-sex attraction is learned, imported, or imposed.

The facts: Sexual orientation is a natural and deeply rooted part of human diversity.

• King Mwanga II: The 19th-century Kabaka of Buganda openly had sexual relations with both male and female servants.
• Traditional Ugandan societies had specific roles for diverse identities, such as the mudoko dako among the Lango people, who were effeminate men treated as women who could marry other men without social sanction.
• It was the British Empire that introduced the original laws criminalising "unnatural offences" when Uganda became a protectorate. These were the "imported" Western legal and religious values, not the other way around.

Scientific consensus is clear: sexual orientation emerges early in life and is not something people consciously choose or can simply abandon (ASSAF, 2015). Genetic and developmental studies—including one analysing nearly half a million individuals—demonstrate biological influences on same-sex attraction (Ganna et al., 2019).

Myth Busted: What is foreign is the colonial-era legal framework that criminalised same-sex intimacy in the first place; laws imposed by British rule, not indigenous African cultures.

Myth 4: Sexual Orientation Can Be “Fixed” or Changed

The claim: LGBTQ+ people can be “rehabilitated” through therapy.

The facts: So-called conversion or reparative therapies are ineffective, unethical, and dangerous.

Multiple systematic reviews by the American Psychological Association have found no credible evidence that sexual orientation can be changed. Instead, these practices are linked to increased depression, anxiety, trauma, and suicidal ideation (APA, 2009).

As a result, conversion therapy is condemned—and in many countries banned—by medical and psychiatric bodies worldwide. The World Psychiatric Association is unequivocal: sexual orientation is not an illness and does not require treatment (Bhugra et al., 2016).

Myth Busted: Promoting these practices under the AHA is not about healing. It is about coercion.

Why This Matters

The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 is not only legally extreme but also intellectually dishonest. It ignores overwhelming evidence, weaponises misinformation, and legitimises violence and exclusion under the guise of morality. Laws built on myths do not protect societies. They fracture them.

Ugandans deserve policies rooted in truth, dignity, and evidence, and not fear-driven legislation that sacrifices lives for political gain. The facts are clear. The question now is whether they will be acknowledged.

References

American Psychological Association. (2009). Report of the Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation.

https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf

Badgett, M. V. L. (2020). When gay people get married: What happens when societies legalize same-sex marriage. NYU Press.

https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814791141.001.0001

Barth, J., Bermetz, L., Heim, E., Trelle, S., & Tonia, T. (2013). The current prevalence of child sexual abuse worldwide. International Journal of Public Health, 58(3), 469–483.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-012-0426-1

Bhugra, D., et al. (2016). WPA position statement on same-sex orientation. World Psychiatry, 15(3), 299–300.

https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20340

Carpenter, C. S., et al. (2021). Effects of access to legal same-sex marriage. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 40(2), 376–411.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22286

Ganna, A., et al. (2019). Genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behaviour. Science, 365(6456).

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat7693

Gartrell, N., & Bos, H. (2010). Psychological adjustment of adolescents. Pediatrics, 126(1), 28–36.

https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-3153

Patterson, C. J. (2022). Parental sexual orientation and child development. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 63, 71–102.

https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acdb.2022.03.002

Williams Institute. (2023). Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2023: No Basis in Evidence. UCLA School of Law.