Country Conditions Reporting for Asylum Seekers

A summary of what appears as a cryptic in sum introduction to vastly detailed country conditions report for Bisexual women from Ghana seeking asylum.

This is particular to a specific case and may not be applicable to include in ever case. Consulting a country conditions expert on each individual case is critically in Client’s best interests:

a.              There are widespread societal and religious taboos against bisexuals, gays and lesbians, included in the acronym, LGBTI people in Ghana;

b.              LGBTI people are subject to a penal code that criminalizes and same-sex acts with prison terms;

c.              In 2024 Ghana passed harsh anti-LGBTI legislation which timed out pending presidential attestation and court actions. In 2025 Ghana has re-introduced this anti-LGBTI legislation, known as “The Family Values” Bill (FVB)  which seeks to criminalize the identity of LGBTI people, advocates, and allies; 

d.              In Ghana bisexual women, are for all purposes treated no differently to lesbians, and are imputed or perceived as lesbian;

e.              Ghana is a dangerous country for LGBTI people, including bisexual women, due to state-sponsored and state-permitted violence against LGBTI people, to include, inter alia, torture, so called “corrective rape,” beatings, kidnapping, sexual assault, and killing, as more fully delineated herein;

f.                Lesbians and Bisexual women are subject to psychological and physical harm at the hands of state and non-state actors including, inter alia, police, family, medical professionals, friends, neighbors, local communities, religious communities, clergy educational professionals, mobs, vigilante gangs, traditional chiefs, landlords;

g.              Currently, Ghanaian police are proceeding as if the new law is in force . The police unlawfully detain people under suspicion of ‘being’ LGBT to extort bribes;

h.              It is my opinion that regardless of whether or not the Anti-LGBT law passes in Parliament and is signed into law, the LGBTI community will continue to suffer the detrimental and dangerous impact of its mere introduction.  Its current status of uncertainty drives controversy drawing unwarranted attention to the LGBTI community. If it is not passed the LGBTI community will suffer retribution.  If it is passed then the actual terms of the law and what it licenses will be harmful as further described herein;

i.               In Ghana, family, including spouses and children of the LGBTI family member, suffer retribution for the non conforming sexuality of a spouse, parent, or family member. Hence ………………………………………….. (inquire) ;

j.               There is no government authority for a lesbian or bisexual women to turn to for protection or help in Ghana. Protective authorities such as the police are likely to perceive the LGBTI person as a perpetrator rather than as a victim and to participate in furthering the harms, to include persecution and torture of the LGBTI person who sought protection;

k.              The anti-LGBTI climate and resulting violence in Ghana is escalating;

l.               As an election year, the issue of homosexuality and the new law headlined the politics of 2024 and increased the already significant anti-homosexuality climate as further noted herein. The new law and the expectation of campaign promises to ensure anti-LGBTI legislation is front and center in media for 2025;

2.              Given the country conditions in Ghana, as more fully delineated herein, LGBTI people, including bisexual women, those perceived as lesbian, and allies are subject to the following:

• Violence by state and non-state actors, including beatings, so called “corrective rape”, detention, torture, floggings, mob attack, gang or vigilante justice, disappearance, and killing
• Arrest and long prison terms, arbitrary arrest, and unlawful detention
• Ostracism, banishment, eviction, firing, and blackmail/extortion
• Psychological abuse, reparative / conversion therapies, (including torture) and exorcisms
• General discrimination in all spheres of life
• Considered a criminal rather than a victim when reporting abuse or a crime
• There is no safe place anywhere in Ghana for a person who is LGBTI, imputed or perceived as such, or an ally, as more fully explained hereafter.

The above is authored by Melanie Nathan, country conditions expert, and is more fully delineated and explained in the context of specifics relating to country conditions in Ghana pertaining to bisexual and LGBTQI people in that country.

Melanie Nathan
commissionermnathan@gmail.com