The Conflict of Sexual Values: Analysing Implications for the Safety of Non-Binary Identities in Ghana

Benedict Ekow Ocran, NTU Department of Social Work, Care, and Community and Professor Pam Alldred, NTU Department of Social Work, Care, and Community

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Context

Recent Ghanaian legislation, effective February 28, 2024, passed the anti-gay bill, "The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill." This aligns Ghana with about 30 of 54 Sub-Saharan African countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ activities, raising concerns over the treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals in the region.   

The Ghanaian parliament, by pushing for an anti-gay legislation, reflects a strong desire to uphold ‘traditional sexual norms’, which consist of an amalgamation of local and foreign sexual norms across the pre and post-colonial periods. Our interest here is that the discourse advocating for the preservation of sacred Ghanaian values challenges the recognition of LGBTQ+ rights as universal human rights, framing it instead as an external imposition on Ghanaian cultural values. Nevertheless, the pursuit of a ‘sacrosanct’ Ghanaian identity by the Ghanaian population through the parliament, and the safety of homosexuals appears to be increasingly overshadowed and undermined by a myriad of local and international interests that shape the ongoing dialogue surrounding pro and anti-gay rights in Ghana.

This piece examines aspects of Ghana's sexual values and their impact on LGBTQ+ rights, arguing that the focus on pro- and anti-gay rights overshadows critical issues like the safety of non-heterosexual individuals and the affirmation of a Ghanaian sexual identity. It critiques the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill for neglecting the health of the homosexual community, exploring historical Akan sexuality and contrasting it with LGBTQ+ norms. Examples from popular literature illustrate how the gay rights debate overlooks broader concerns for non-normative identities and the promotion of a Ghanaian sexual ethos.  

The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill

The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill seeks to safeguard the sexual values of the Ghanaian populace. This legislation, formulated by members of parliament from both the incumbent and the opposition political parties in Ghana, has garnered substantial backing from political, civil society, traditional and religious factions. It aims to provide lucidity on the prior criminalization of 'unnatural carnal knowledge' and seeks to outlaw the expression of non-heterosexual identities, encompassing public displays of romantic relationships and same-sex marriage (punishable by a term of between six months and a year imprisonment). Furthermore, it criminalises the promotion of all LGBTQ+ activities, including healthcare and education, and endeavours to dissolve pro-LGBTQ+ organisations (involvement with such groups being punishable by up to 5 years of imprisonment). Additionally, the Bill endeavours to grant the government authority to sanction convictions, including by extraditing an offender.

Advocates of the Bill felt the necessity to prohibit all forms of LGBTQ+ activities, even healthcare provision, for ‘contravening national sexual norms and traditions’. However, numerous concerns have been raised, including those regarding academic freedom and infringement of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and its supporters, as well as the safety and well-being of those with non-heteronormative identities.

Ghanaian-Akan Worldview of Sexuality

The understanding of what is termed a Ghanaian sexual ethos is crucial to comprehending the opposition to gay rights in Ghana. We utilise Akan sexuality as a significant example of the Ghanaian perspective on sexuality. The Akan people view sexuality as a communal celebration that emphasizes a positive connection with the divine and promotes unity within the community. They believe that one's moral and sexual conduct is communal, influencing both individual decisions and the community's rapport with the divine. The act of procreation in the marital union is widely regarded as a divine blessing and a sacred duty essential for perpetuating society. It guarantees salvation and recognition as an ancestor, and the family is recognized as the essential entity for transmitting sexual values. Society places significant emphasis on marriage as a conduit for procreation and community support. Consequently, sexuality is perceived as communal rather than individualistic in nature.

The Confluence of Sexual Cultures, Resulting Influences and Safety of Sexual Minorities

This Akan concept of sexuality shows the potential discordance with LGBTQ+ ideals because they are less directly concerned with the procreation of children, and therefore are more concerned with the individual relationship rather than the furthering of the community. In this section, we will explore how this relates to local and foreign interests and the important consideration of the health and well-being of sexual minorities.

The impact of colonisation, globalisation, and modernisation on Ghanaian sexuality and identity has been profound, resulting in the erosion and replacement of traditional values. While some contend that Ghanaian values have been diluted and supplanted by foreign ones, others argue that these values persist, citing the example of the Akan concept of sexuality. The decision by the Ghanaian government to locate LGBTQ+ values outside Indigenous sexuality suggests that the conservative understanding of Ghanaian sexual values continue to exert a strong influence on sexual politics in Ghana, even in the post-colonial and post-imperial eras. Consequently, religion remains a pivotal force in shaping sexual politics in Ghana, including in matters of gender-based violence, sexuality education and other pertinent issues related to the sexualities, health, and safety of sexual minorities.

The persistence of Akan sexual values, or the resurgence and reinforcement of such values, is referred to by politicians, civil society groups, and activists as being at odds with the sexual values of the LGBTQ+ community. Conversely, pro-LGBTQ+ groups advocate from a human rights perspective, contending that sexuality is an issue of rights and individual choice. This viewpoint stands in contrast to the traditional cultural principles of the Ghanaian Akan community, where the concept of sexuality is perceived as communal rather than individualistic.  

Sexuality cannot be an individual matter for the Akan; it is intrinsically linked to the responsibility of procreating for the sustenance of society. This can only be achieved when the union between a man and a woman is preserved in traditional society. Given the disparity in sexual values between anti and pro-LGBTQ groups (along with a slight similarity of adoption in the case of lesbian and gay couples as an alternative for childbirth), it is foreseeable that these differences may lead to conflict, culminating in the passing of the LGBTQ Bill. The arguments of pro- and anti-gay rights movements in Ghana are well-documented in academic pages. We argue that limiting the discussion on gay rights in Ghana to for or against the rightness or wrongness of sexual values threatens to overlook crucial topics like the safety, health and well-being of members of the LGBT community, a concern worryingly absent from the provisions of the Bill.

Discussions of gay rights should transcend moral claims and acknowledge the existence of homosexuality in every society, including Ghana. It is important to balance discussions on sexual values in Ghanaian society with ensuring the protection of those who identify as members of the LGBT community or are thought to be. This is the caution raised by some research that pro and anti-gay rights arguments, which are identified as a play of moral aptitude in Africa, obscure any discussions that ensures the safety, health and well-being of sexual minorities.

Conclusion

The discourse on sexual politics in Ghana is characterised by its inherent complexity. The influences of (neo)colonialism, foreign faiths (e.g., Christianity), and globalisation on Ghanaian sexual mores may have complicated any attempt to assert what is currently being redefined, reoriented, and reinforced as a Ghanaian sexual identity, which stands in opposition to LGBTQ+. In the ongoing discourse on Ghanaian sexual mores and LGBTQ, all stakeholders must acknowledge the multifaceted issues at play, which encompass the safety, health, and general well-being of sexual and gender minorities and non-binary individuals. We offer two reflections on the law in this direction.

On January 7, 2025, Ghana's new political leadership decided to take ownership of the legislative bill via the Office of the Attorney General. This initiative aims to spark discussions about creating an educational curriculum focused on traditional sexual values. A critical review of existing legal discourses is essential to develop policies that balance reinforcing these values while ensuring the health and well-being of non-binary individuals.

Further, Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees the right to health for all Ghanaians, thereby necessitating adherence from the Executive, the Judiciary, and the Legislature. The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill poses a contradiction by marginalising LGBTQ+ individuals, limiting their access to essential health rights and healthcare related to non-binary identities. The power dynamics between Ghanaian sexual norms and LGBTQ+ rights undermine existing legal guarantees, including health rights, thus necessitating more focus on these issues over the supremacy of values in the LGBTQ+ rights discourse in Ghana.

Further Reading

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