Ghana

Ghana’s Criminal Code bans same-sex relations, and technically also anal intercourse between partners of different sex. Although Section 104 (1)(b) of the Criminal Offences Act is rarely applied, its existence legitimizes widespread antipathy towards LGBTIQ people and contributes to harassment and extortion of LGBTIQ individuals at the hands of authorities. Politicians and influential religious figures regularly make public statements disparaging LGBTIQ people, and media coverage of LGBTIQ issues is predominantly negative. In 2021, Parliament introduced an expansive anti-LGBTIQ law which is still under consideration but has led to widespread human rights violations against LGBTIQ persons, as documented by Outright. Prominent anti-LGBTIQ organizations, religious leaders and the Bill's provisions espouse the need for mandatory “conversion practices” and intersex genital mutilation, exacerbating the already hostile conditions that LGBTIQ Ghanaians live in. LGBTIQ identities are often seen as an immoral and deviant choice, which leads to the regular harassment, discrimination, violence, and family rejection of LGBTIQ Ghanaians.