Zoom Only Event

Topic: "Ghanaian Family Values" Queer Persons, the law, media & advocacy in Ghana.

The LGBTQ+ Ghanaian community has come under repeated attacks in 2021. In January, a safe space established for queer persons was raided by the police and shut down.

Then in May, twenty-one activists were arrested while attending a paralegal human rights training conference in Ho, and subsequently incarcerated and put on trial for months.

Finally, in August, the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill was laid before Parliament. Among other things, this Bill seeks to criminalize being queer, advocacy for queer rights, and even sympathy towards queer persons. Under this Bill, queer persons and allies could be incarcerated for terms ranging up to 10 years. Individuals may only be granted reprieve if they "recant" and undergo conversion therapy which has been previously stated by some of the Bill's proponents to include hormonal injections.

This presentation examines the chronology of events that led to the Bill and recent attacks on the queer community and it analyzes the role the law and the media have played in marginalizing an already vulnerable community. It will also examine advocacy efforts that are being made to address this current wave of homophobia and the proposed draconian law.