Homophobic Christian hate group is going to great lengths to promote traumatising conversion therapy in Ghana
Brian Brown, president of the World Congress of Families (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/ Getty)
A homophobic Christian hate group is holding a two-day international conference to promote so-called ‘conversion therapy’ in Ghana.
The World Congress of Families (WCF) is a US-based organisation that opposes LGBT+ rights and abortion in favour of the “natural family”. It is classified by the Southern Poverty Law Centre as a hate group.
In addition to its strong anti-LGBT+ position, Open Democracy has also uncovered links to Islamophobic and white nationalist groups.
They are currently pushing their Ghana agenda which involves positioning Africa “as a more active advocate within the global pro-family movement.”
On October 31 and November 1 the WCF is hosting a two-day “Africa regional gathering” in Ghana’s capital, Accra, seeking to influence religious leaders and the political elite against LGBT+ rights.
Among those present at the summit will be Sharon Slater, president of another hate group called Family Watch International, which spreads the horrific depiction of LGBT+ people as pre-disposed to committing crimes against children.
In 2012, Slater called on activists in Nigeria to oppose efforts by international institutions to support the decriminalisation of LGBT+ people. And this year she characterised sex education as an attack on family values.
LGBT+ rights are heavily suppressed in Ghana (Creative Commons)
These insidious views are particularly harmful in a country like Ghana, where homosexual activity is criminalised and LGBT+ people are routinely subject to persecution.
A 2018 Human Rights Watch report found that LGBT Ghanaians are frequent victims of human rights abuses, including blackmail, extortion and arrests, and suffer discrimination and abuse in public and in private.
The Human Rights campaign said: “HRC condemns efforts by the World Congress of Families to further endanger LGBTQ people, women and others in Ghana and throughout the world.
“We urge allies to help us shine a spotlight on the group’s hateful agenda and hold the World Congress of Families accountable by sharing news on social media about the group’s harmful messages and amplifying the positive work of local LGBTQ communities and their allies.”
