LGBTQ+ Advocates Sue Ghana’s Government After Human Rights Workshop Raid
July 31, 2022Two lawsuits – filed on behalf of attendees of a 2021 LGBTQ+ rights training workshop in Ghana – offer some hope for the future of LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
Ghanaian police arrested 21 people in May 2021 after raiding the workshop which focused on documenting and reporting human rights violations against LGBTQ+ people. As LGBTQ Nation reports, the group has since become known in Ghana as the HO21.
Last month, two lawsuits were filed in the Ghana High Court against the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of Ghana on behalf of four members of the HO21.
“These individuals were subjected to harassment, assault, discriminatory treatment, and other violations of their constitutional rights. We only hope that the court will give them justice based on the enormous evidence that is before them,” said Richard Fischere Kwofie, director of Queer Ghana Education Fund. “We are ready to seek redress for all human rights violations against persons perceived to be LGBTQ+, including violations committed by Ghana police and the state, and this is because of the trust that we have in our judicial system.”
One of the lawsuits argues that the state violated people's right to freedom of assembly, as well as protections against discrimination and unlawful arrest and detention. The second, filed on behalf of an intersex attendee, says she was stripped naked and endured a forced genital inspection by police. It is also claimed police encouraged other inmates to sexually assault her to “prove” she was female.
LGBTQ+ Ghanaians face widespread hostility in the majority-Christian nation. Sexual acts between men are illegal and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment has only worsened in recent years. After the country’s first LGBTQ+ support center opened in January 2021, public outcry led to a police raid and the center closed within a month. By winning these lawsuits it is hoped that some measure of protection will be established for the LGBTQ+ community.
The so-called "Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values" bill was introduced in parliament. Critics have called the bill the “most homophobic document the world has ever seen” and “a homophobe’s dream.” Under the proposed law, LGBTQ+ Ghanaians would be forced to choose between jail or conversion therapy.
A CNN report last year revealed that one of the groups behind the bill is the World Congress of Families (WCF), a group formed from an alliance of conservative organizations from the US and Russia. The WCF is deemed a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Brian Brown, WCF's leader, has insisted that his organization provided inspiration, not instruction, for the Ghanaian bill.
Read related myGwork articles here:
Ghana President Calls For Tolerance As Parliament Considers Anti-LGBTQ+ Law
Court in Ghana Frees LGBTQ+ Event Attendees
Ghana Court Denies Bail For 21 Arrested LGBT+ Activists
Ghana May Outlaw LGBT+ Activism “In All Its Current And Future Forms”
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