Rightify Ghana

Last updated
Rightify Ghana
FormationFebruary 2020
HeadquartersGhana
Website https://rightifyghana.org

Rightify Ghana is a Ghanaian organization that advocates for LGBT rights in Ghana. [1] [2] Rightify Ghana was established in February 2020 as a non-profit organization to advocate for the rights of LGBT+ Ghanaians. [3]

Contents

The Ghanaian government has long denied LGBTQ+ Ghanaians respect, protection, and recognition. [4] [5] Rightify Ghana came together to raise awareness about the many challenges faced by our community – challenges neglected by the government at the policy level. Our organization seeks to mitigate harm, identify solutions, and ultimately empower sexual and gender minorities across the country. [6]

Activism

Rightify Ghana has been one of the organizations leading efforts to advocate for the rights of LGBT+ Ghanaians and fight the Ghanaian anti-LGBT bill laid before the Parliament of Ghana. [7] [8] [9] [10]

In January 2022, Rightify Ghana launched a fundraiser to expand advocacy for LGBTQI+ people living in Ghana. [11]

The second pillar of Rightify Ghana’s work is community empowerment, particularly capacity building and human rights education. In addition to facilitating healthcare education and access, such as that to HIV resources, Rightify facilitates psycho-social support services. This means providing counseling for community members on issues ranging from accepting one’s identity to confronting homophobia, to experiencing an existential crisis. These services aim to provide community members with the tools to live in harmony with their sexual orientation and gender identity – despite the many challenges of internalized homophobia, religious conflicts, family dynamics, etc. [12] [13]

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References

  1. Atrakouti, Amal. "GHANA: 'The 'anti-gay' bill will have far-reaching consequences if we do not fight it now'". www.civicus.org. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  2. David McKenzie and Nimi Princewill (8 October 2021). "How a US group with links to the far-right may have influenced a crackdown on Ghana's LGBTQ community". CNN. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  3. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Ghana court acquits 21 LGBTQ activists arrested during crackdown | DW | 05.08.2021". DW.COM. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  4. "Ghana | Human Dignity Trust". www.humandignitytrust.org. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  5. "Archbishop of Canterbury criticises Ghana anti-LGBT bill". BBC News. 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  6. Blackmon, Robert (2022-02-08). "Rightify Ghana". Alturi. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  7. "Ghana poised to vote on 'worst anti-LGBTQ bill ever,' advocates warn". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  8. "Next hearing on LGBTQ+Bill to be held in-camera - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  9. Wakefield, Lily (2021-10-13). "Ghanaian chief threatens to storm parliament with 10,000 homophobes". PinkNews. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  10. Maass, Daly Barnett and Dave (2022-02-17). "Twitter and Facebook Must Speak Out Against Ghana's Repulsive Anti-LGBTQI+ Bill". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  11. Stewart, Colin (2022-01-22). "Rightify Ghana launches fundraising appeal to expand advocacy for LGBTQI+ people". Erasing 76 Crimes. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  12. Blackmon, Robert (2022-02-08). "Rightify Ghana". Alturi. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  13. Stewart, Colin (2022-01-22). "Rightify Ghana launches fundraising appeal to expand advocacy for LGBTQI+ people". Erasing 76 Crimes. Retrieved 2022-09-17.