Ghana's parliament passes anti-gay bill mandating prison sentences

June 2 (UPI) -- Ghana's parliament approved a bill criminalizing identification as LGBTQ+ or promoting gay activities.

The legislation, called the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, mandates prison sentences of three to 10 years, The Guardian reported. President John Dramani Mahama is expected to sign it.

LGBTQ+ people are worried they could lose their homes, jobs or access to healthcare, community organizations have said. Many are already scrubbing their social media accounts.

"People are panicking and scared. The new bill affects where you are staying; it can get you evicted; it can lead you to lose your job," said Leila Lariba, director of One Love Sisters Ghana, an organization that supports lesbian and bisexual women.

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"No matter how safe you think you are," Lariba told The Guardian, "you do not know who's ready to talk."

"We have advised people to prioritize their safety online and offline. If they have content on their social media pages that could put them at risk, we are encouraging them to remove it. People need to be cautious about what they post because they don't know how this law could be used against them," Lariba added.

Human Rights Watch made a formal request to abandon the bill to the constitutional and legal affairs committee of Ghana. But advocates of the bill have said it will protect Ghanaian family values, the BBC reported.

The country already had a ban on same-sex relations from British colonial law, but it was rarely enforced. The new law affects LGBTQ+ people and their allies, including anyone who provides services, support or advocacy. It also requires people to report suspected LGBTQ+ people.

A similar bill was introduced to parliament in 2021 after an LGBTQ+ resources center was shut down in Accra, the capital. Former President Nana Akufo-Addo never signed that version of the bill, citing several lawsuits against it in the country's Supreme Court. He left office in January 2025, and the bill was reintroduced this year.

Several African countries have been denying LGBTQ+ rights recently. Senegal passed a similar law in March creating a maximum prison term of 10 years for sexual acts by same-sex couples and criminalizing the "promotion" of homosexuality. Uganda made some same-sex acts punishable by death in 2023.