Some students in the University of Ghana have been expressing their views on Parliament’s proposed jail term for citizens engaging in LGBTQ+ activities.
Parliament had proposed a legislation which suggests a 3year jail term for individuals engaging in LGBTQ+ activities, as an effort to discourage citizens from engaging in LGBTQ+ activities. The issue has sparked widespread concern among citizens, with some making emphasis on human rights and discrimination.
Speaking to Univers News, the students agreed with the Parliament’s move to discourage the behavior. Most of these students suggested an increase in the jail term for people found engaging in LGBTQ+ activities.
“I think the three years is small. They need to be given like some five-year or ten-year sentence in prison. They need that good military training. They’re going to straighten their mindset and literally every aspect of their life because it’s really, really against our rules and laws. So like, literally it is the work of the devil.”
” I would suggest the government will like put them in ten years or 15 years in prison and they should be under serious military training.”
“I think the three years jail, this thing is okay. If they could add a few years to it, I’ll be glad. And the minimum should be two years because I think they need to be taught a lesson. They need to be jailed so that their brain can be reset because all the things they are doing, I don’t see the essence in it.”
On the other hand, some students disagreed with the sentence, arguing that the sentence would not serve as an adequate deterrent. The belief was by putting an individual in the same sex group, they would still find an avenue to engage in homosexual activities.
The students suggested confinement and fining as alternatives to the jail term to effectively deter the practice of LGBTQ+ activities.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea because if somebody is a gay or a lesbian and you’re going to jail the person three years, the same people in the prison, with the same sex, they’re going to continue. If you are telling them that maybe they are supposed to pay a fine or maybe you are confining them in another place, each one for himself, that one I think is going to be a good idea.”
