LGBT people in Ghana face blackmail, beatings, ostracism, school suspension, and loss of employment, according to activists. Data gathered in 20 by the pan-African research body Afrobarometer showed that only 7 percent of Ghanaians would like to have an LGBT neighor or not care if their neighbor was gay. It is a deeply conservative country, especially when it comes to sexuality and gender roles. Ghana is one of 32 African nations where homosexuality is criminalized. “There is a belief that when you hate LGBTQ people, you win votes,” Danny Bediako, executive director of Rightify, told CT. Rights groups like Rightify Ghana, on the other hand, say the bill is a populist ploy to distract Christians and other voters from the real problems that politicians haven’t been able to fix, including government corruption, unemployment, and poor infrastructure. The two organizations have also argued the law will “help safeguard our cherished family system in Ghana.” They urged parliament to pass the bill and President Nana Akufo-Addo to sign it, saying homosexuality is “unacceptable behaviour that our God frowns upon” and “alien to the Ghanaian culture and family value system.” The Christian Council of Ghana, which includes Anglicans, Methodists, and Presbyterians, and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), an umbrella group of 200 churches and ministries, issued a joint statement backing the draft law.
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It is due to be debated after parliament resumes on October 26. The bill increasing the penalties for same-sex relations was presented to parliament in June by eight lawmakers, led by Samuel George, with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party currently in the opposition. The crime carries a three-year sentence but is rarely enforced. Ghana law currently prohibits “unnatural carnal knowledge,” a statute carried over from British law when Ghana achieved independence in 1957. “It seemed strange and also an affront that anyone could openly set up an office to promote the LGBTQIA+ community, using their clout and influence and financial resources to recruit young people to join their ranks.” Though the conference was canceled and the resource center closed, they raised concern among conservative Christians in the West African country. He told CT he believes the law is necessary because of the “escalating promotion of the LGBTQIA+ community in Ghana.”Ī South Africa-based group that advocates for LGBT rights attempted to organize a conference in Ghana in July 2020 and an LGBT resource center opened in Accra, the capital, in January 2021.
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The controversial Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill was drafted in part by Edem Senanu, chair of Advocates for Christ-Ghana. The majority of Christian churches in Ghana are backing a proposed law that, if passed, could send lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to prison for five years and those who advocate for their rights for 10.