'Gay Ghanaians 2nd-class citizens' – Human Rights Watch

A rights group says Ghanaians who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) are effectively "second-class citizens" because they are criminalised and not protected from violence and discrimination.

In its report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) quotes an unnamed 40-year-old lesbian from Cape Coast, who says:

The government should recognise that we are human beings, with dignity, not treat us as outcasts in our own society. We want to be free, so we can stand tall in public and not deal with obstacles and harassment daily."

Same-sex activity is illegal in Ghana under a colonial-era law.

HRW says that although Ghana has not stiffened penalties against consensual same-sex in recent years, “homophobic statements by local and national government officials, traditional elders, and senior religious leaders foment discrimination and in some cases, incite violence.”

The rights group is campaigning for this law to be repealed.