Ghana’s Parliament is making bold progress to criminalise a host of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender activities as snippets of a new bill is made public.
The bill, appropriately titled “The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021†prescribes severe sanctions against various activities of the LGBT+ community.
The bill when passed into law will punish a person who willfully commits a “grossly indecent act†with summary conviction, to a term of imprisonment of not less than six months and not more than one year.
According to the bill, a “grossly indecent act†is a misdemeanour and it means:
“A public show of amorous relations between or among persons of the same sex;
“A public show of amorous relations between to among persons where one or more of the persons have undergone gender sex reassignment, or
“Intentional cross-dressing to portray that person is of a gender different from the gender assigned at birth with intent to engage in an act prohibited under the act.
Furthermore, the bill stipulates that a marriage entered by persons of the same sex or a person who has undergone gender or sex reassignment is void.
A certificate also issued by a foreign authority pursuant to marriage is unenforceable in Ghana.
Persons who administer, witnesses, abets, solemnises or aid solemnisation of marriage of LGBTQI persons commits a misdemeanour and is liable on summary conviction in a term of imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than three years.
For this bill to pass, a two-thirds majority will have to vote in favour.
After this, the bill is will sent for the President's assent.
When the bill receives the President's assent, it becomes law and is published in the Gazette.