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ACCRA — Ghana’s parliament on Friday approved a new bill that criminalizes the so-called promotion of LGBTQ activity, part of a broader crackdown on sexual minorities in West Africa.The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, passed by a voice vote after the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee unanimously recommended its adoption, first deputy speaker Bernard Ahiafor said.The bill was introduced last year shortly after President John Dramani Mahama took office. Lawmakers from Mahama’s political party, the National Democratic Congress, had been urged by religious leaders and other supporters of the bill to vote on it, and Mahama will now face pressure to sign it.Lawmakers passed an earlier version of the bill in 2024, under Mahama’s predecessor, President Nana Akufo-Addo, but it faced legal challenges and Akufo-Addo never signed it into law.The bill approved on Friday maintains the existing penalty of up to three years in prison for same-sex sexual acts. It also bans “funding, sponsorship or promotion” of LGBTQ acts, with prison terms ranging from three to five years. And it introduces a “duty to report” prohibited LGBTQ acts to a police officer or other authorities, with violators facing up to three years behind bars.
By Nana Davis Mac‑Iyalla, Executive Director, Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA)Today, Ghana’s Parliament passed the amended Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025 — a bill that continues to criminalise LGBTQ+ people and restrict the work of organisations, advocates, and community members who support them. Although the amendments now protect lawyers, journalists, and medical professionals who offer essential services, the bill still poses a profound threat to the safety, dignity, and freedom of LGBTQ+ Ghanaians.At IDNOWA, we recognise this moment as a critical test of our collective resilience. Our mission has always been clear: to build inclusive faith spaces, protect human dignity, and strengthen the rights and wellbeing of sexual and gender minorities across West Africa and the diaspora. Today’s decision does not change that mission — it deepens it.As this news settles across our communities, I return to a truth that has carried our people through generations of hardship: Hope is not the absence of struggle — it is the refusal to surrender our humanity.We come from ancestors who survived systems designed to break them. Their resilience flows through us. And today, as the law turns against our communities, that ancestral refusal to give up must guide us again.
IDNOWA’s Perspective on the Path AheadParliament’s vote is not the final step. The bill now moves to the President for assent, and constitutional challenges may continue. IDNOWA will remain vigilant, working with legal partners, regional allies, and international networks to monitor developments and defend the rights of our communities.Our commitment is grounded in our organisational values:
Dignity: Every person is sacred.Inclusion: Faith must never be used as a weapon.Solidarity: We rise by holding one another.Justice: No law can erase our humanity.
These values will continue to guide our advocacy, our partnerships, and our community‑care work across 11 West African countries and the diaspora.
How Our Communities Can Stay SafeIn moments like this, fear is real — but fear must not isolate us. Safety is a collective practice, and IDNOWA encourages all community members to take the following steps:1. Strengthen Digital Security
Use encrypted messaging apps.Avoid sharing identifiable information online.Enable two‑factor authentication on all accounts.
2. Protect Physical Safety
Avoid gatherings that could be misinterpreted under the new law.Move in trusted networks.Keep emergency contacts and safe locations accessible.
3. Seek Support from Exempt ProfessionalsThe amended bill protects:
Lawyers providing legal representationJournalists reporting professionallyMedical and mental‑health professionals offering care
You can still access:
Legal adviceMedical treatmentCounselling and psychosocial support
without those professionals facing punishment.4. Document Violations SafelyIf you experience harassment or threats:See Also
Record details privately and securely.Share only with trusted organisations or legal professionals.Avoid posting sensitive evidence publicly.
5. Stay ConnectedIDNOWA encourages community members to:
Check on one anotherShare verified informationBuild small circles of careParticipate in virtual support spacesReach out to trusted leaders and allies
Isolation increases vulnerability. Community increases safety.
How We Continue to ResistIDNOWA’s work has always been rooted in faith‑based solidarity, community empowerment, and human‑rights advocacy. This moment calls us to deepen that work.We resist by:
Telling our storiesSupporting one anotherDocumenting injusticesStrengthening alliances across faiths, professions, and bordersEngaging legal pathwaysRefusing to internalise shame or fear
Oppressive systems thrive when we are hopeless. They depend on our exhaustion. They depend on our silence. But our sacred relationships — to ourselves, our communities, our ancestors, and the Divine — can light the path forward.
A Final Word of CourageToday’s news is heavy. It is painful. It is unjust. But it is not the end of our story.We have survived worse. We have organised under harsher conditions. We have built community in the shadows and in the light. We have held each other through storms meant to erase us.And we will continue.Hope is not naïve. Hope is our inheritance. Hope is our strategy. Hope is our resistance.As IDNOWA, we remain unwavering in our commitment to protect the dignity, safety, and humanity of all LGBTQ+ people across West Africa and the diaspora. We will continue to advocate, to organise, and to stand with our communities — no matter how dark the moment feels.Our ancestors refused to give up. We honour them by refusing to give up on each other.
Related
, https://hoimapost.co.ug/ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-lgbtq-bill/
