What’s Happening in Ghana Should Matter to All of Us
In March 2025, Ghana's parliament passed one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world.
The bill—formally known as the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act”—not only criminalises same-sex relationships (already illegal in Ghana), but extends penalties of up to 5 years in prison to anyone who advocates for, associates with, or supports LGBTQ+ people and causes.
Let me be clear: this isn’t just a local issue. It’s a global crisis. And if you’re reading this from the safety of a clinic, classroom, or coffee shop somewhere in Australia, the UK, or the US, you still have a role to play.
This Is Not a “Foreign Problem”
The backlash against LGBTQ+ rights in Ghana doesn’t exist in isolation. It is deeply connected to global colonial legacies, Western evangelical influence, and transnational flows of hate and ideology.
In fact, much of the modern homophobia seen in Ghana was seeded and funded by American and European right-wing Christian groups exporting anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns in the name of “traditional values.” These groups are often the same ones attacking trans rights and sex education in the West.
When we pretend these movements are disconnected—“That’s just Africa, that’s just their culture”—we erase our own complicity. The West cannot export homophobia and then turn away when it takes root.
Silence Is a Privilege We Can’t Afford
In a globalised world, queer rights anywhere are queer rights everywhere.
When laws like Ghana’s are passed, they ripple outward. They embolden extremists, justify hate, and silence local activists. They create environments where being LGBTQ+ is not just taboo—it’s dangerous. They cut off access to healthcare, education, housing, and safety for queer Ghanaians.
And while it might feel far away, those impacts loop back into global mental health, migration policy, international aid, and transnational solidarity movements.
When queer asylum seekers flee Ghana, who will support them? Who will believe them? And what will we have done to change the systems that made exile their only option?
Intersectional Activism Must Be Global
As a therapist, I talk about intersectionality often. But intersectionality isn’t just about race and gender and class within our own borders—it’s about understanding how these identities operate across borders, too.
To practice true intersectional allyship, we must:
Listen to and amplify LGBTQ+ voices in the Global South
Hold Western institutions accountable for their role in exporting hate
Push our own governments to use diplomatic and financial leverage to support human rights abroad
Recognise that our own freedoms are fragile and interdependent
Support local activists, not just in word, but in material ways
It’s Not About “Saving” Ghana—It’s About Standing With Queer Ghanaians
There are incredible LGBTQ+ activists, organisers, and communities within Ghana risking everything to fight this bill. They don’t need Western saviours—they need us to show up in solidarity, push back against complacency, and advocate for collective liberation.
Because LGBTQ+ rights aren’t just legal battles or identity politics. They are matters of life and death. Of safety and belonging. Of who gets to live freely and who doesn’t.
References
The Guardian. (2025). Ghana passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill with up to five years’ jail for identifying as queer. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/28/ghana-passes-anti-lgbtq-bill
Human Rights Watch. (2025). Ghana’s new anti-LGBTQ+ law is dangerous and unconstitutional. [Online] https://www.hrw.org/