Same-sex relationships and recriminalisation of homosexuality in Ghana
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12906394 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ernest Yaw Ako (0000-0001-7214-4992, University of Cape Coast, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 1-3 |
| Pages | 45-65 |
| Publication date | 2023-08-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociolinguistic Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1750-8657 • E-ISSN: 1750-8649 |
| Publisher | Equinox Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1558/sols.24077 |
| OpenAlex | W4385630357 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 19 |
Most Ghanaians conveniently ignore or vehemently deny the existence of homosexual relationships in precolonial Ghanaian cultures. The denial of these relationships in precolonial Ghanaian cultures has gained attention due to section 104 of the Criminal Offences Act of Ghana which criminalises ‘unnatural carnal knowledge’ and the ‘promotion of proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values bill, 2021’ (anti-LGBTQI+ bill), currently being debated in Ghana’s Parliament. Historical evidence suggests, however, that Western European researchers who first visited Africa and Ghana suppressed evidence of homosexuality, while indigenous people unwittingly concealed homosexual relationships because of a ‘culture of silence’ surrounding sex and sexuality in precolonial Ghana. From a decolonial theoretical perspective, this article argues that the non-appreciation of precolonial Ghanaian (homo)sexual history partly accounts for the criminalisation of same-sex sexual relationships, homophobia, violence, and violations of the rights of sexual minorities in contemporary Ghana. The paper connects the presence of same-sex sexual intimacies in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), and the absence of criminal sanctions as a basis for rethinking current attempts in Parliament to recriminalise homosexual relationships, in order to chart a path of the equal legal protection of every person, regardless of their sexual orientation
Criminology · Denial · Homosexuality · Human rights · Human sexuality · Indigenous · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Residence · Sanctions · Sexual orientation · Sociology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Demography · Gender Studies · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Marriage and Sexual Relationships · Psychology
Defining and Describing What We Do
Being Gay and African
A History of the Adoption of Codes of Criminal Law and Procedure in British Colonial Africa, 1876–1935
Agɔnwole agyalɛ
The Making of a Sexual Being in Ghana
It's a Silent Trade”
What an Abomination, a Rottenness of Culture”
British Legislation as a Source of Ghanaian Law
The 'unsaying' of indigenous homosexualities in Zimbabwe
"Bisexuality" and the Politics of Normal in African Ethnography
On the Coloniality of Being
Framing the Ghanaian LGBT rights debate
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |