A proposed law in Ghana would require citizens to report LGBTQ people to authorities

Source: CNN

A proposed law in this country would require citizens to report LGBTQ people to authorities

By Leah Asmelash, CNN
Updated 10:55 AM EDT, Wed September 13, 2023

(CNN) — When Lariba was growing up in James Town — a coastal neighborhood in Accra, Ghana — they never felt criticized for living the life they wanted to live, they said, even as an LGBTQ person.

Of course, there were certain areas in Accra they couldn’t go, like some religious communities that wouldn’t be friendly to presumed LGBTQ people, said Lariba, who is using a pseudonym for safety reasons. But there were also areas where anyone could go and be themselves, they said, neighborhoods where nobody ever questioned why someone may be dressed in a certain way or behaving in a certain manner.

Now, all that has changed, said Lariba, the executive director and co-founder of gender activist group One Love Sisters Ghana. If someone suspects that you, or someone you’re with, is gay — either from your gait, the way you dress, or who you may be holding hands with — you could be attacked, kidnapped or even lynched.

The shift, according to advocates, is largely due to a new anti-LGBTQ bill making its way through the Ghanaian parliament: “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill.”

Introduced in 2021, this bill not only criminalizes LGBTQ relationships, but also those who support LGBTQ rights, with the possibility of being extended to journalists for what the bill calls “promoting” these issues, too. It also gives citizens a “duty to report,” ...

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/13/africa/ghana-lgbtq-community-fears-cec/index.html