NETRIGHT unhappy with passage of LGBTQ+ Bill
The Network of Women’s Rights (NETRIGHT), a women’s rights group, has called on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, not to sign the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill passed by Parliament on February 28, 2024, into law.
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It explained that the Bill should not be signed into law “On grounds that it breaches the 1992 Constitution, and also discriminatory, harsh, punitive and wholly unnecessary”. It called on all who have concerns about the bill to make their voices heard and not be intimidated by the tenor of debate and the bad treatment of naysayers in the media.
In a statement signed by its Convenor, Professor Akosua Darkwah, it noted with unhappiness and disappointment the passage of the Bill in parliament as there had been no fundamental change in the intent and provisions of the Bill.
It said while the promoters sought to portray that the concerns raised about the Bill when it was first drafted had been addressed, a read-through of the Bill passed by Parliament showed that most of the concerns raised two years ago by NETRIGHT, other CSOs and public institutions had not been addressed.
That, it said, raised even greater cause for concern because not only will the Bill, if signed into law, create a climate of fear for LGBTQ+ persons, but it also poses a clear threat to anyone considered an ally or advocate on LGBTQ+ issues, which could be anyone including a family member, employer, landlord, priest, counsellor or doctor.
Already, proponents of the bill, it said, had stated that the Bill intended to target those friendly to LGBTQ+ issues, saying this “Confirms our fears that the Bill will have the effect of targeting groups of people and elevate intolerance even of ideas to great levels.”
Bill unconstitutional
Secondly, it said the Bill was unconstitutional on two grounds. First, it said it violated Article 17 of Ghana’s Constitution, which establishes that every individual is equal before the law.
Second, a private member’s Bill such as this one was not supposed to exact a burden on the public purse. “Implementing this Bill will, however, cost the nation a tidy sum of money.”
The statement further said several provisions of the law (sections 17, (1) and (2)) “which impose new duties on us as Ghanaian citizens are clear mandates for vigilantism. “Since the law was introduced in Parliament in 2021, we have seen a sharp spike in the attacks on people merely suspected to be members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“This Bill, if passed, will make an already bad situation worse. While the Bill supposedly makes provisions against the harassment of members of this community, the provisions are, in fact, contradictory (sections 17 (3) and (4)) and will do little to protect victims.
“The Bill in and of itself creates a hostile environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community. No one in Ghana should have to live in fear of their life on account of their sexuality,” the statement said.
It states in Section 19 that “family values” include “respect for the sanctity of marriage as a lifelong relationship.” “It further implies that the nuclear family is the most acceptable family form in Ghanaian society.
However, in adopting this Western notion of family, the Bill fails to recognise the diverse forms of family in Ghana, including, especially the extended family, families of individuals and their siblings, among others,” it added.
Finally, “We also note with regret the disdain with which some media personalities and houses are handling and subjecting human rights activists invited to their platforms to discuss the Bill— the biases in questioning, reporting and call-in programmes that expose them to attacks”.
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It said the media were the 4th estate, and “our Constitution recognises its critical role in shaping democracy and national discourses. We call on the media not to lose sight of their role even though they may come under attack and encourage them to use their spaces for fair reportage and interrogation of the Bill to enhance understanding and informed discussions”, it added.
