Ghana parliament advances one of the toughest anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the world

Ghana is moving closer to adopting what campaigners warn could become some of the world’s most repressive anti-LGBTQ+ laws, prompting grave concern from human rights advocates at home and abroad.

The proposed Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, recently reintroduced and given its First Reading in Parliament on 17 February, would criminalise LGBTQ+ people and those who support them, sharply escalating existing legal and social risks for sexual and gender minorities in the country.

According to international advocacy group All Out, this is not the bill’s first appearance. A previous attempt was stalled last year following strong domestic and international opposition. However, with newly elected President John Mahama publicly backing harsher anti-LGBTQ+ measures and key lawmakers moving quickly, campaigners warn the chances of rapid passage are now significantly higher.

If enacted, the bill would:

• Impose prison sentences of up to three years on individuals merely suspected of being LGBTQ+
• Compel citizens to report people they suspect of being LGBTQ+
• Criminalise identifying as LGBTQ+, with reported penalties of up to three years in prison
• Introduce five- to ten-year sentences for promoting LGBTQ+ rights or providing support services
• Ban gender-affirming healthcare, sex toys, same-sex relationships and LGBTQ-inclusive education
• Criminalise allyship, funding and advocacy, both offline and online
• Force the closure of existing LGBTQ+ organisations and extend liability to institutions, technology platforms and employers

Matthew Beard, Executive Director of All Out, told Gay Times that the bill is part of a broader backlash against equality. Ghana’s proposal, he said, “reflects a wider international campaign against LGBTQ+ rights” and would make “organising, educating and even offering allyship legally risky.”

Supporters of the legislation claim it defends so-called “African values.” However, Beard and other advocates argue that the push behind the bill is linked to transnational anti-rights movements, and warn that its impact would be felt far beyond Ghana’s borders. “Progress has always depended on people paying attention beyond their own borders,” Beard noted, stressing that the obligation to uphold safety and dignity is universal.

Local human rights organisation Rightify Ghana has also raised alarm, stating that the bill “goes beyond criminalising certain conduct” and instead imposes sweeping duties on parents, educators, religious institutions and the media to promote a state-defined notion of “family values.”

LGBTQ+ advocates and allied groups are urging Ghana’s Parliament to reject the bill and are calling on the international community to support Ghanaians defending fundamental rights, including equality, privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of association.