The Ghanaian parliament has passed a law called the Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which will punish anyone who defines themselves as part of the LGBTQI+ community with up to three years in prison. The law provides for 3 years imprisonment in this case and up to 5 years for anyone who organizes or financially supports LGBTQI+ rights groups. The law will also punish those who seek gender reassignment.
National and international reactions have been swift, urging President Akufo-Addo not to assent to the bill and prevent it from coming into force. In response, the Ghanaian president has said that he is awaiting the Supreme Court’s analysis and decision and that he will decide whether or not to proceed with the assent. According to human rights defender Larissa Kojoué, this anti-LGBT law is ‘inconsistent with Ghana’s tradition of peace, tolerance, and hospitality and violates the country’s international human rights obligations’.
It is worth remembering that Ghana’s penal code, which dates back to 1960, defines “unnatural carnal knowledge” as a crime, so the country already has a conservative tradition on these issues. However, the final approval of this law would deepen homophobia, the violation of the rights of these communities, and place Ghana among the 30 countries on the African continent that condemn all expressions of sexual and gender diversity.
Undoubtedly, this situation is part of a strong and growing trend of homophobic and anti-LGBTIQ+ discourse on the continent.
