The Ghanaian Minister of Communications and Ablekuma West Member of Parliament, Ursula Owusu, has expressed concern regarding the Anti-LGBT bill’s criminalization of sex toys.

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said that heterosexual couples who use sex toys to improve their sex lives would unintentionally be impacted by the criminalization of sex toy use found in clause 3(c) of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021.

She had some concerns about criminalising the use of sex toys among heterosexual couples.

Clause 3(c) of the bill explicitly prohibits sexual intercourse between a man and an inanimate object, or between a woman and an inanimate object.

She emphasized that if the intention of the house is to criminalize sex toys, it should be explicitly stated that the bill is not solely directed at the LGBT community but applies to everyone.

In the absence of such clarity, she has urged for the immediate removal of Clause 3(c).

These remarks were made during the deliberation of the Anti-LGBT bill on the floor of Parliament.

“And I think we raised this when the committee was considering it that the proposed amendment in 3(c) may create unintended consequences because sexual intercourse between a man and an inanimate object or between a woman and an inanimate object would necessarily include sexual intercourse with all manner of aids that couple use to enhance the sexual experience.”

“And I’m not sure if that’s what the intention of this bill is. It would necessarily include sex toys and other aids that couples, heterosexual couples also use to enhance the sexual experience.

“So if that is what the house intends then we have to be clear in our minds that we may be criminalising activities which may not necessarily be limited to only those LGBTQI community that the target of this bill is, but it may also be targeting straight couples who use sex enhancement tools to enhance the sexual experience.

“So we need to be mindful of the unintended consequences of 3(c) could be and I’ll propose that 3(c) be deleted from this amendment.”

Disagreements emerged in Parliament regarding the appropriate punishment for individuals engaging in unnatural carnal knowledge within the LGBTQ+ community.

The proposed bill seeks to criminalize such activities, prescribing a penalty of 3 to 5 years.

However, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee suggested a prison term of up to 3 years without specifying a minimum sentence. The Chairman of the Committee clarified the reasoning behind this proposal on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.

“Most of the religious bodies were supporting the fact that they would give people who are prepared to go through reforms, the opportunity to go through. If we make a strict law that if you are found guilty, or you practice this, you don’t have an option. Mr. Speaker, we don’t have a community service that would have been more severe than giving the person a custodial sentence, because the society will look down upon you.”

“But to caution you or to give you deserve imprisonment or imprisonment, if we leave it to the discretion of the judge, they are also members of this society, they are learned, and depending on the circumstances, that’s why I am comfortable if we give the upper limit without saying that the person must be imprisoned as a minimum requirement.”

Sam George, one of the bill’s sponsors, stated that guidance on the amount of penalty units to be imposed on offenders would be essential in judging the severity of the appropriate punishment.

“We should then get advice on what the minimum penalty or 750 units is concurrent with, is it three months or six months? So we have a lower limit also for custodial sentence,” he said on the floor.”

But the Speaker interjected saying that there was already a law on equivalence on penalty units and therefore “that will apply.”

Following the discussions, the Speaker postponed the questions to the parliamentary drafters. Their task is to create a comprehensive document that accurately mirrors the intentions expressed by various legislators during the deliberations.

On Tuesday, June 29, 2021, Speaker Alban Bagbin received a private member’s bill that is controversial regarding LGBT issues. Eight MPs are leading the charge on it.

The Ghanaian advocates want homosexuality to be criminalized in the nation, along with its funding, promotion, and advocacy.