‘A homophobe’s dream’: Ghana draft law could criminalise LGBT+ people, allies and advocates

Politicians in Ghana have submitted a draft bill which would make it a crime to be gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary or an ally, punishable by up to five years in prison, in what could become one of the most draconian pieces of anti-LGBT+ legislation anywhere in the world.

Not only would the bill criminalise LGBT+ people, it would also see anyone deemed to be advocating for sexual minorities or promoting “sympathy” face five to 10 years imprisonment.

Introduced to parliament by eight politicians on 29 June, the proposed Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill is reported to have cross-party support among lawmakers in the largely conservative Christian country – with political analysts suggesting it could gain enough backing to become law, albeit with some amendments.

“This bill is a homophobe’s dream law,” Danny Bediako from local LGBT+ group Rightify Ghana told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“The community is shocked at how wide-ranging it is. People are even scared to go out now and some members say they will leave the country if the bill is passed into law. Even those who want to help us will be afraid.”

While gay sex is already punishable by up to three years in jail in Ghana, the draft legislation would usher in sweeping clampdowns on the very existence of sexual minorities.

It was described by Rightify Ghana as “the most homophobic document the world has ever seen”.

With campaigners already warning that homophobia is on the rise in Ghana, the bill – leaked online and confirmed as genuine by politicians and diplomats – would make it a crime for citizens not to report LGBT+ people to the police or other figures of authority.

The proposed laws could even force LGBT+ people to pay “compensation” to someone they engage in sexual activity with, which campaigners warn would put individuals at risk of blackmail.

It also promotes so-called conversion therapy by allowing flexible sentencing for an LGBT+ person if they request “treatment”, and could enable the government to force intersex children to undergo “gender realignment” surgery.

In line with recent attempts by politicians, religious leaders and some of the country’s media to crack down on those supporting LGBT+ people and promoting their rights, the bill would result in a five to 10-year sentence for anyone taking part in, hosting or funding LGBT+ groups, or promoting LGBT+ rights in print or on social media.

Anyone deemed to be an ally – defined in the bill as “a non-queer person who supports or advocates for the queer community, or is an individual within the LGBTTQQIAAP+ community and identifies with another member of the community” – could also face between three to five years behind bars.

The bill is framed as an attempt to uphold “Ghanian family values”, and would also criminalise the use of sex toys, and anal and oral sex, among the entire population.

While Ghana’s parliament is yet to appoint a committee to review the draft legislation, which will be subject to various amendments before it can be passed into law, the bill comes after a number of attacks on Ghana’s LGBT+ community in recent months.

The country’s first LGBT+ community centre was raided and shut down just weeks after it was opened in January – with these efforts to galvanise support for sexual minorities sparking an uproar which resulted in MPs pledging to introduce legislation prohibiting pro-LGBT+ advocacy.

“A wave of homophobia was expected, but not on such a large scale,” Abdul-Wadud Mohammed of the group LGBT Rights Ghana told Agence France-Presse at the time. “We’ve been communicating about our activities for a long time, but it had never become a matter of national interest.”

Months later, in May, some 21 gay activists were arrested for attending a training session in rights advocacy, in what police said was an “unlawful” gathering, held by Rightify Ghana. The individuals have since been released on bail, but many are reported to be living in safehouses, with some having lost their jobs or been disowned by family members.

Despite the proposed bill outlawing verbal or physical abuse against LGBT+ people – making it punishable with six months to three years in jail – campaigners say that some people fear talk of the legislation is already emboldening homophobes.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 11 August 2021 People stranded at the Pakistani-Afghan border wait for its reopening after it was closed by the Talibans, who have taken over the control of the Afghan side of the border at Chaman, Pakistan EPA World news in pictures 10 August 2021 Supporters cheer outside French football club Paris Saint-Germain’s Parc des Princes stadium in Paris after Argentinian football player Lionel Messi landed in Le Bourget airport to sign for the club AFP/Getty World news in pictures 9 August 2021 People perform a folk dance to traditional music as they celebrate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in Mumbai, India EPA World news in pictures 8 August 2021 Thank you messages is displayed inside the stadium during the Olympic closing ceremony in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 7 August 2021 Pro-democracy protesters clash with police during a demonstration demanding Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-Ochas and King Maha Vajiralongkorn be held accountable for the governments failure to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, in Bangkok AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 August 2021 Members of local NPO release paper lanterns on Motoyasu River in front of beside the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, as it was known before 1945, and now called the Atomic Bomb Dome, as the city marks the 76th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bomb attack AFP/Getty World news in pictures 5 August 2021 The Men’s Decathletes pose for a photo following their competition on day thirteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan Getty World news in pictures 4 August 2021 Maronite clergymen pray near damaged grain silos at the port of Lebanon’s capital on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the port and the city AFP/Getty World news in pictures 3 August 2021 An underwater view shows France’s Charlotte and Laura Tremble during the women’s duet technical routine artistic swimming event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games AFP/Getty World news in pictures 2 August 2021 Germany compete in the women’s team pursuit qualifying event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Izu Velodrome AFP/Getty World news in pictures 1 August 2021 enezuela’s Yulimar Rojas competes in the women’s triple jump final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Rojas took gold and broke the Olympic and World Record in the process AFP/Getty World news in pictures 31 July 2021 Elaine Thompson-Herah celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the gold medal ahead of Jamaican teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the women’s 100m final at the Tokyo Olympic Games Reuters World news in pictures 30 July 2021 Athletes compete during the men’s 3000m Steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics Reuters World news in pictures 29 July 2021 Athletes compete in the BMX men’s Olympic quarter-finals run at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo AFP/Getty World news in pictures 28 July 2021 A picture taken with a drone shows researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University investigating a dead fin whale found in the harbor of Terneuzen, The Netherlands EPA World news in pictures 27 July 2021 People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walk past extra papers reporting on Japanese gold medalists at Tokyo Olympics AP World news in pictures 26 July 2021 The ball hits Thailand’s Orawan Paranang’s face as she competes against Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa during her women’s singles round 3 table tennis match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games AFP via Getty Images World news in pictures 25 July 2021 A woman walks in the rubble after flooding due to heavy rains in Dinant, Belgium, a week after more than 30 people were killed in floods in the country EPA World news in pictures 24 July 2021 A firefighter uses a drip torch to light a backfire in an effort to stop the spread of the Dixie fire in Prattville, California AFP/Getty World news in pictures 23 July 2021 An overview shows Japan’s tennis player Naomi Osaka lighting the flame of hope in the Olympic Cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at the Olympic Stadium, in Tokyo AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 July 2021 People wade through a flooded street following a heavy rain in Zhengzhou, in China’s Henan province AFP/Getty World news in pictures 21 July 2021 People celebrate in Brisbane, Australia, following an announcement by the International Olympic Committee that the city was picked to host the 2032 Olympics AAP Image via AP World news in pictures 20 July 2021 Muslims attending the Eid Al-Adha prayer at Skenderbej Square in Tirana AFP/Getty World news in pictures 19 July 2021 Muslim pilgrims gather on Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat during the annual Haj pilgrimage outside the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia Reuters World news in pictures 18 July 2021 People protest against the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan Reuters World news in pictures 17 July 2021 A long exposure photograph shows Muslim pilgrims circumambulating around the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, at the Grand mosque in the holy Saudi city of Mecca during the annual hajj pilgrimage AFP/Getty World news in pictures 16 July 2021 A van crushed by the torrents is pressed against a tree after the floods caused major damage in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany AFP/Getty World news in pictures 15 July 2021 A staff member sits at an interactive digital installation “Fire / Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest” during a media preview of “teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live” at the lobby of Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel, Takeo Hot Springs in Saga prefecture AFP/Getty World news in pictures 14 July 2021 Pupils of the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr march during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris AFP/Getty World news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rescuers look for bodies after a catastrophic blaze erupted Monday at a coronavirus hospital ward in the al-Hussein Teaching Hospital, in Nasiriyah, Iraq AP World news in pictures 12 July 2021 People try to recover a car damaged during flash floods after heavy monsoon rains in Bhagsunag, a popular tourist town in Himachal Pradesh, India AP World news in pictures 11 July 2021 Police cars are seen overturned in the street in the framework of a demonstration against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana AFP via Getty Images World news in pictures 10 July 2021 Tanya and Evance Chanda from Mechanicsville look on as a statue of Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson is removed after years of a legal battle over the contentious monument, in Charlottesville, Virginia Reuters World news in pictures 9 July 2021 Hundreds of Haitians gather in front of the US embassy in the hope that they will be granted a visa to leave their country, due the uncertainty of what may happen after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti EPA World news in pictures 8 July 2021 NGOs fly huge rainbow balloon at Hungary’s parliament protesting against anti-LGBT law in Budapest Reuters World news in pictures 7 July 2021 The Ever Given leaves the Suez Canal after its Japanese owners reached a settlement following more than three months and a court standoff over compensation for it blocking the crucial east-west waterway for nearly a week earlier this year Getty World news in pictures 6 July 2021 Queen Maxima of the Netherlands arrives to be greeted by German Chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin AFP/Getty World news in pictures 5 July 2021 Firefighters work at the site of an explosion and fire at a plastics factory on the outskirts of Bangkok AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 July 2021 In this photo released by authorities, rescuers search for bodies from the site where a Philippine military C-130 plane crashed in Patikul town, Sulu province, Philippines AP World news in pictures 3 July 2021 A fire on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico erupted after a gas leak from an underwater pipeline sparked a blaze, according to Mexico’s state-owned Pemex petrol company Twitter/Manuel Lopez San Martin World news in pictures 2 July 2021 A human chain is formed by workers from the civil society, humanitarian aid, and medical and rescue services in a vigil calling for maintaining a UN resolution authorising the passage of humanitarian aid into Syria’s rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey AFP/Getty World news in pictures 1 July 2021 Members and supporters of LGBT community wear masks and hold rainbow flags as they gather during the annual gay pride parade in Pristina, Kosovo Reuters World news in pictures 30 June 2021 A man walks past traditional large figures called “Ondel-ondel”, donning face masks and displayed along a sidewalk of a main road, in Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World news in pictures 29 June 2021 Toshiyuki Inoko, leader of TeamLab, poses for a photo following an interview with AFP in an interactive kinetic installation “Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the Same Root, the Garden and I are One” during a media preview of the TeamLab Planets Garden Area in the Toyosu district of Tokyo AFP/Getty World news in pictures 28 June 2021 Youths crawl on the ground while holding wooden mock rifles during a military summer training camp organised by the Islamic Jihad group, in Gaza City AP World news in pictures 27 June 2021 Juventude’s Matheus Jesus in action with Flamengo’s Rene in the Brasileiro Championship Reuters World news in pictures 26 June 2021 A boat passes off shore as members of the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue team look for possible survivors in the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building Getty World news in pictures 25 June 2021 The last super moon of 2021 behind the 66-metre tall Millennium cross in Skopje, North Macedonia Reuters World news in pictures 24 June 2021 Nikhil Sachania steers his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X with co-driver Deep Patel ahead of the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya during a side-by-side super special at Kasarani near Nairobi AFP/Getty World news in pictures 23 June 2021 A football fan sits in the stands before the UEFA EURO 2020 Group E football match between Sweden and Poland at Saint Petersburg Stadium in Saint Petersburg AFP/Getty

Sam Nartey George, an MP from the opposition National Democratic Congress party – and among the eight sponsors of the bill – claimed on Twitter that since the draft was leaked, he had “been overwhelmed by the massive support” he had received over it.

He had written: “Homosexuality is NOT a human right. It is a sexual preference. Preferences are not absolute or unregulated. We SHALL pass this bill through.” The tweet appears to have since been removed by moderators.

While The Guardian reports that some officials have sought to allay fears that the bill will pass, there are figures within president Nana Akufo-Addo’s government known to support harsher clampdowns on LGBT+ people.

Meanwhile, the local LGBT+ community is said to be reeling. Nana Ama Agyemang Asante, a journalist in the Ghanian capital, Accra, told the newspaper that she was “stunned by the contents, the crudeness of the language, and the cruelty behind the intent” of the legislation.

“I have spent all my time as a journalist advocating for gay rights so I can’t believe that we have arrived at this point where they want to criminalise everything and everyone including the existence of allies, intersex and asexual folks,” she said.

Alex Kofi Donkor, director of LGBT+ Rights Ghana, the organisation that ran the now-closed community centre, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation: “People are horrified, outraged and scared.

“Some people are avoiding going out in certain public spaces as they feel even the conversation of the bill is stirring up homophobic sentiment and empowering homophobes.”

Mr Donkor, who has set up a campaign called “Kill the Bill”, added: “If this is the feeling now, can you imagine what it will be like for the queer community if the bill is passed?”