Queer activists from Ghana raise the alarm: Gay and bisexual men are supposed to be spied on in dating apps, lured to places under false pretences, beaten up, robbed and/or blackmailed. Daily. The police and law enforcement of the African country do not care. Now the community is fighting back itself: With a Facebook page, victims warn others of their blackmailers.

If you are blackmailed, robbed or beaten up, you have to go to the police. The gays in Ghana cannot do that. Only a few of the crimes are reported to the police or prosecuted by them. On the contrary: the victims put themselves in danger of becoming the subject of investigations themselves – because sex between men is illegal in this West African country and is punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment.

The community strikes back

Grindr blackmail is nothing new. Similar incidents have been going on for years in Egypt, authorities are even actively involved here (we reported). In Ghana the community is now fighting back and found a way to protect themselves and others.

Activists created the “Ghana Gay Blackmail List”, a site where gay and bisexual men can anonymously give tips. Photos and information about blackmailers and catfishers who hunt gay men in the apps are published by the admins. The chairman of the group, Alex Kofi Donkor, tells the news agency Reuters that he receives three to four reports every week about blackmail, incidents of violence or assaults.

“We are in a country where our lives are clearly in danger because of people’s hatred and disgust for the community. Often we are not able to do justice to the crimes committed. The best thing we can do is to protect ourselves.”

Donkor tells of men like Nana Kwame – a bisexual man who was robbed and threatened with a pistol, or Benson, a gay man who was beaten up and left in the dirt with a broken jaw. In both cases, charges were filed, but the police’s investigation was unsuccessful.

“There is a degree of impunity when it comes to the abuse of LGBT+ individuals. You can feel the relaxed attitude of the police … there is a certain degree of homophobia”.

Please follow and like us: