Anti-gay bill: Parliament amends clause

Parliament of Ghana has approved a proposed amendment to a clause in the anti-gay bill that deals with the inducement of people to partake in sexual activities prohibited by the act.

Parliament resumed the clause-by-clause amendment of the bill on the promotion of proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values, also known as the anti-gay bill, on Tuesday.

The house on Friday took the bill through the consideration stage after the sponsors accused the majority caucus of a deliberate attempt to frustrate its passage.

Parliament is continuing with its clause-by-clause amendment of the anti-gay bill today, Wednesday, December 13, 2023.

The lead sponsor, Samuel Nartey George, proposed that persons who induce other individuals to undertake sexual activities prohibited by the act must be penalized under clause 7.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, he said, “This amendment that stands is an agreement between the sponsors and the committee based on our engagement after the first reading of the bill, and the rationale is stated in the committee’s report. The amendment proposes paragraph A, line nine: ‘Delete threats or intimidation and insert threat, intimidation, or inducement.’ And, Mr. Speaker, per the committee’s report, the rationale stated there is to broaden the scope of the Communicated Act.”

“So instead of just using threat and intimidation, we are making it threat, intimidation, or inducement because the committee drew the attention of the sponsors that people do break relations, which is basically attracting people into this act not only by threat, not only by intimidation but at times by even offering money, which is inducement… It will now read, ‘A person who by threat, obstruction, deterring, improper or corrupt means, molestation, intimidation, or inducement procures another person to engage in a sexual activity prohibited under this act.'”