Out of Bounds: Foreign and Digital Influence Targeting LGBTI Rights in Ghana
In 2021, the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill” was introduced in the Ghanaian Parliament. The bill, if passed, would criminalize LGBTI people and behavior, as well as those who support their rights, and even those who report on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) issues. While there has been significant national and international media coverage of the bill, what is less understood is who is driving promotion of the bill, and the accompanying harmful public debate. This report seeks to fill that knowledge gap, identifying who is behind the external anti-LGBTI influence, detailing connections between Ghanaian leaders and conservative foreign groups, and showing how anti-LGBTI rhetoric, and social and other media traffic, are being shaped and driven by these interests. As of March 2023, the anti-LGBTI bill is still pending in Ghanaian parliament. With this report, we provide recommendations to continue exposing the origins of anti-LGBTI hatred in Ghana and guidance on supporting LGBTI rights and reclaiming the narrative from homophobic politicians and other personalities to demonstrate that reactionary narratives against LGBTI rights are not universal in Ghana.