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ACCRA \u2014 Ghana\u2019s 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\u00a0Bill, 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\u00a0last year\u00a0shortly after President\u00a0John Dramani Mahama\u00a0took office. Lawmakers from Mahama\u2019s 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\u2019s predecessor, President\u00a0Nana Akufo-Addo, but it faced legal challenges and Akufo-Addo never signed it into law.The bill approved\u00a0on Friday\u00a0maintains the existing penalty of up to three years in prison for same-sex sexual acts. It also bans \u201cfunding, sponsorship or promotion\u201d of LGBTQ acts, with prison terms ranging from three to five years. And it introduces a \u201cduty to report\u201d prohibited LGBTQ acts to a police officer or other authorities, with violators facing up to three years behind bars.
\nBy Nana Davis Mac\u2011Iyalla, Executive Director, Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA)Today, Ghana\u2019s Parliament passed the amended Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025 \u2014 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\u2019s decision does not change that mission \u2014 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 \u2014 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.
\nIDNOWA\u2019s Perspective on the Path AheadParliament\u2019s 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:
\nDignity: 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.
\nThese values will continue to guide our advocacy, our partnerships, and our community\u2011care work across 11 West African countries and the diaspora.
\nHow Our Communities Can Stay SafeIn moments like this, fear is real \u2014 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
\nUse encrypted messaging apps.Avoid sharing identifiable information online.Enable two\u2011factor authentication on all accounts.
\n2. Protect Physical Safety
\nAvoid gatherings that could be misinterpreted under the new law.Move in trusted networks.Keep emergency contacts and safe locations accessible.
\n3. Seek Support from Exempt ProfessionalsThe amended bill protects:
\nLawyers providing legal representationJournalists reporting professionallyMedical and mental\u2011health professionals offering care
\nYou can still access:
\nLegal adviceMedical treatmentCounselling and psychosocial support
\nwithout those professionals facing punishment.4. Document Violations SafelyIf you experience harassment or threats:See Also
\nRecord details privately and securely.Share only with trusted organisations or legal professionals.Avoid posting sensitive evidence publicly.
\n5. Stay ConnectedIDNOWA encourages community members to:
\nCheck on one anotherShare verified informationBuild small circles of careParticipate in virtual support spacesReach out to trusted leaders and allies
\nIsolation increases vulnerability. Community increases safety.
\nHow We Continue to ResistIDNOWA\u2019s work has always been rooted in faith\u2011based solidarity, community empowerment, and human\u2011rights advocacy. This moment calls us to deepen that work.We resist by:
\nTelling our storiesSupporting one anotherDocumenting injusticesStrengthening alliances across faiths, professions, and bordersEngaging legal pathwaysRefusing to internalise shame or fear
\nOppressive systems thrive when we are hopeless. They depend on our exhaustion. They depend on our silence. But our sacred relationships \u2014 to ourselves, our communities, our ancestors, and the Divine \u2014 can light the path forward.
\nA Final Word of CourageToday\u2019s 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 na\u00efve. 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 \u2014 no matter how dark the moment feels.Our ancestors refused to give up. We honour them by refusing to give up on each other.<\/p>\n
\tRelated ACCRA \u2014 Ghana\u2019s 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\u00a0Bill, 2025, passed by a voice vote after the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee unanimously recommended its adoption, first deputy speaker …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3659155457675267_172535249438148":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima.jpg",1080,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima-768x512.jpg",618,412,true],"large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima-1024x683.jpg",618,412,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima.jpg",1080,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima.jpg",1080,720,false],"tie-small":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima-110x75.jpg",110,75,true],"tie-medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima-310x165.jpg",310,165,true],"tie-large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima-310x205.jpg",310,205,true],"slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima-660x330.jpg",660,330,true],"big-slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ghana-parliament-approves-cruel-sweeping-anti-LGBTQ-bill-The-Hoima-1050x525.jpg",1050,525,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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