Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ+ Bill and all you need to know

The Bill was unanimously approved and passed by the country’s parliament on February 27, through a voice vote.

Introduced to the House in July 2021, the Bill is currently awaiting presidential assent to be passed into law.

Once passed into law, the promotion and funding of LGBTQ+ activities and public display of affection among other things will be criminalised.

Many Human Rights groups have since reacted to the development, with bodies like the Board Chair for the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Ghana, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo urging the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to refrain from assenting the Bill.

What are the proponents of this Bill and what does it mean for the country if passed? Here is a breakdown of Ghana’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill as proposed by parliament.

What the act is about:

The Bill tasks citizens to promote and protect the human sexual rights and family values defined in section 19 of the Act (Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act 2024).

Who it affects:

The act applies to people who hold out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, transsexual, ally, pansexual, or persons of any other sexual orientation or in a sexual relationship contrary to the sociocultural relationship between a male and a female.

It also applies to persons involved in the promotion of advocacy for, support, or funding of LGBTQ+ activities or persons who provide or participate in the provision of sex or gender reassignment, surgical procedure, or any other procedure intended to create a sexual category other than the sexual category of the person assigned at birth except in cases where the procedure is intended to correct abnormality including intersex.

Persons who engage in sexual activity prohibited under this Act will be sanctioned.

How the Bill affects the respective groups:

• Persons found purposely aiding, facilitating, encouraging, or promoting acts that subvert the family values are liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than seven hundred and fifty penalty units and not more than two thousand penalty units or not less than two months and more than four months or both in prison.
• People who engage in sexual activity prohibited by the Bill commit a misdemeanor and are liable to a fine of not less than seven hundred and fifty penalty units and not more than five thousand penalty units or not less than two months and not more than three years in prison.
• Persons who procure others to engage in sexual activity prohibited under the Act will be subjected to not less than three months and not more than three years imprisonment.
• Persons who keep brothels for sexual activity prohibited under the act will be liable to a term of imprisonment not less than three years and not more than six years.
• Persons who publicly and willfully engage in grossly indecent acts (public show of romantic relations between same-sex, gender-reassigned, or cross-dressed people) will be imprisoned for not less than six months and more than one year or both.
• Persons who enter a marriage of the same sex or any categories prohibited by the Bill are liable to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not more than three years.
•  Persons who disseminate information that promotes activities prohibited under the act through mediums will be liable to not less than five years and not more than ten years imprisonment.
• Persons who promote activities or support acts prohibited under the act will be jailed for not less than five years and more than ten years.
• Persons who fund or sponsor activities prohibited under the Act will be imprisoned for not less than three years and not more than five.

Disbandment and prohibitions:

• The Bill seeks to disband groups, societies, associations, clubs, or organisations in existence before the coming into force of this Act, whose purpose, whether partly or fully, overtly, or covertly, is to promote, facilitate, support or sustain in any way an act prohibited under this Act.
• Nobody is allowed to directly or indirectly form groups or encourage activities to support or sustain LGBTQ+ activities under this Bill.
• The Court and Department of Social Welfare will be prohibited from adopting or fostering persons who fall into the groupings of LGBTQ+.

Duty to report:

Citizens who have knowledge of persons who commit offences prohibited under the Bill are to report to the Police Service or relevant authorities of the community within which it was committed.

Regulations:

The Gender Ministry is expected to make regulations to regulate approved service providers and provide for the support of victims of sexual activities prohibited under this Act, assistance for intersex persons, and the effective and efficient implementation of the Act.

Protection of LGBTQ+ persons under the Bill:

The Bill also makes provision for the protection of LGBTQ persons and other individuals classified as offenders per the Bill under Sections 84 to 87 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

According to the Bill, the law according to the above-mentioned Act will apply to persons who will harass or abuse either verbally or physically, persons accused of an offence under this Act; or suffering from any gender or sexual identity challenge including LGBTTQAP+ or any other variant of a sexual identity challenge.

Exceptions:

According to the Bill, the use of a graphic description of the behavioural pattern of a person engaged in an activity prohibited under this Act for education or instruction; or in response to any form of advocacy or activism does not constitute abuse, assault, or harassment.