Explaer: what mak Ghana’s anti-gay bill so extreme? | Global velopment | The Guardian

Contents:

• GHANA: ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSG 10-YEAR PRISON SENTENC SPARKS OUTRAGE
• EXPLAER: WHAT MAK GHANA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SO EXTREME?
• GAY ACTIVISTS GHANA MAND RELEASE OF 21 PEOPLE ARRTED AT LGBTQI NFERENCE
• THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV

GHANA: ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSG 10-YEAR PRISON SENTENC SPARKS OUTRAGE

Draft anti-gay legislatn submted to Ghana’s parliament uld propose up to 10 years jail for LGBTQ+ people as well as groups and dividuals who advote for their rights, exprs sympathy or offer social or medil support, one of the most dranian and sweepg anti-gay laws proposed around the world. In Febary, a muny space offerg support for sexual mori was forced to close amid a backlash om policians, civil and relig groups and the media, and also led to a rise arrts and abe agast people perceived to be gay or Friday, Sam Nartey Gee, an MP who has scribed gay rights as a “perversn” and led a group of lawmakers who drafted the bill, dismissed onle nmnatn of the bill as “unrmed”. “Homosexualy is not a human right.

EXPLAER: WHAT MAK GHANA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SO EXTREME?

“I have spent all my time as a journalist advotg for gay rights so I n’t believe that we have arrived at this pot where they want to crimalise everythg and everyone cludg the existence of alli, tersex and asexual folks. Marriage would be clearly fed Ghanaian law as beg between a male and pani, onle platforms and acunts which publish rmatn which uld be emed to enurage children to explore any genr or sex outsi of the bary tegori of male and female uld face 10 years January, groups across public life, om policians to journalists, civil and relig lears, have led fierce nmnatn of LGBTQ+ rights and support works ’s ernment promised new laws to prohib pro-gay advocy, amid hysteria over bolr efforts to tablish support for sexual mori.

Prosecutns are rare, yet many gay and queer people have reported experiencg abe by cizens and law enforcement growg clamour for a clampdown on those perceived to be promotg LGBTQ+ rights, 21 people were arrted the cy of Ho March, at a trag event for paralegals and other profsnals workg on supportg vulnerable groups. (Johannburg) – Arbrary arrts and tentn of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people Ghana, and a proposed dranian anti-LGBT bill are g ser enomic hardship and psychologil strs for LGBT people, Human Rights Watch said today. Police erroneoly jtified the arrts on the grounds that the trag ssn was “promotg homosexualy” and that the gatherg was an “unlawful assembly.

GAY ACTIVISTS GHANA MAND RELEASE OF 21 PEOPLE ARRTED AT LGBTQI NFERENCE

The urt said that all Ghanaians, cludg lbians and homosexuals, are entled to eely exprs their views, to assemble and monstrate support of those views and to propagate those views. A., a 35-year-old gay man om Hohoe, a municipaly the Volta regn, said that beg taed left him feelg huiated, though the vis of a sympathetic pastor migated the suatn. Publicly nmn all threats and acts of vlence agast lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people, cludg vlence by fay members.

THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV

Adopt measur and take steps to raise public awarens of the harm of the homophobia that prevails the untry, and the need to bat . In particular hold public officials who make homophobic statements acuntable.

Introduce legislative and policy measur to prevent, punish, and provi effective remedi for vlence agast lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people on the basis of their real or imputed sexual orientatn and genr inty and ensure their nstutnal rights to equaly and non-discrimatn. Take necsary steps to protect lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people agast all forms of discrimatn, timidatn, and vlence, and amend sectn 104 of the Crimal Offenc Act, 1960, to ensure that sexual relatns between nsentg adults of the same sex are not nsired a mismeanour or punishable by law. Provi more fancial and technil support to civil society anizatns providg servic to lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people who have suffered vlence, cludg domtic vlence, and discrimatn on the basis of their sexual orientatn and genr inty.

If passed s current form, rights groups say uld spark a wch-hunt of sexual mori, advocy groups and “alli”, forcg the public to report on their are some of the ma measur, wh excerpts om the bill self:A clampdown on LGBTQ+ intyThe law would crimalise, wh up to five years prison, intifyg as a LGBTQ+ person, havg a gay relatnship or terurse. (A) person ms an offence if the person holds out as a lbian, a gay, a transgenr, a transsexual, a queer, a pansexual, an ally ….