Ghana's anti-gay law is making life tough for LGBT people

Laws that criminalize same-sex activity in Ghana are leaving LGBT people open to abuse and discrimination in the country.

LGBT people in the east African country suffer discrimination and abuse both in public and in family settings.

Even though some Ghanaian officials have publicly called for an end to violence against LGBT people, the country still criminalizes same-sex activity.

Human Rights Watch released a 72-page report today which revealed the widespread discrimination LGBTI Ghanaians face.

The ‘No Choice but to Deny Who I Am’: Violence and Discrimination against LGBT People in Ghana’ report showed that the ongoing prohibition and punishment of ‘unnatural carnal knowledge’, coupled with the failure to actively address violence and discrimination, relegated ‘LGBT Ghanaians to effective second-class citizenship’.

While the report showed police and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) have taken some steps to protect LGBT people, it has not been enough. ‘The government should recognize that we are human beings, with dignity, not treat us as outcasts in our own society,’ said a 40-year old lesbian from Cape Coast in southern Ghana. Read more via Gay Star News