Gay and Lesbian Travelers in Ghana
- Is Ghana safe for Gay and Lesbian travelers ?
- Are there Gay venues in Ghana ?
- Internet chat with Gays in Ghana
- Staying Safe
- HIV prevalence in Ghana
- What if things go wrong ?
Is Ghana safe for Gay and Lesbian travelers ?
Absolutely! Ghana is a safe and hospitable country that welcomes all people.
However, Ghana is also a very different culture and is a conservative country, so the issue of homosexuality, when raised, tends towards hysteria. It is not wise to disclose your orientation freely if it is anything other than heterosexual.
Homosexuality is illegal in Ghana, as in most African countries. Just as is was when it was illegal in Western countries to be gay, the police will use this to harass and blackmail gays. So be careful, as they often work in partnership with people online.
If you are visiting Ghana for the culture, the scenery and for a good holiday, then by all means come and have a great time. But if you are coming just to sex with some Internet chat frineds, our advice is to stay home!
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Are there Gay venues in Ghana ?
There is no gay neighborhood in Accra, but there are definitely places where gay people meet. Any person who approaches you and directly asks your orientation or position is a working boy and not a true gay. A gay person in Ghana could never be so direct out of fear for his personal safety. Gays stay well hidden and mostly meet via friend-of-a-friend.
Every night of the week except Tuesday has some meeting place in Accra. Unless otherwise noted, all these venues are mixed. If you are alone at some of these places, working girls may approach you first. After they strike out, the guys will advance. Many of the boys are money boys, but some are just nice guys. So be discrete!
We try to keep this list up-to-date, but gay meeting places change frequently here. We welcome any feedback or additional information.
1. Rhapsody's at the Accra Mall is popular, chic and expensive. Friday nights are especially mixed. There is a restaurant also, which serves excellent food in an upscale atmosphere. Because of the expense, there are fewer of the moneyboys here.
2. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Le Reve, a mixed but sleazy disco at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, opposite the large GCB bank building. Try Monday night's here.
3. The Coconut Grove hotel hosts a hugely popular Salsa Night on Wednesday. This is a mixed meeting place, and gays tend to hang out at the front gate. Arrive early, as the event is finished by 10:30PM.
4. Chesters in Osu has been around for years. This is an outdoor spot, but there is a members-and-tourists-only room in the front that is mostly gay. There is live music on Wednesday night, and it is busiest later in the evening, after the Salsa event at Coconut Grove has finished.
5. Ebo's Spot in Osu gets a nice gay crowd on Wednesday evening after the Salsa event has ended at Coconut Grove. Go upstairs to the open air rooftop bar.
6. The Bus Stop Pool Bar is a snooker bar across from Busy Internet on Ring Road near Nkrumah Circle. Wednesday nights tend to be fun here, but being so close to Busy, it is a place where it is easy to meet guys who are relaxing after chatting on the Internet. There is an associated Bus Stop restaurant two doors down from the pool bar.
7. Bywel bar is a very nice place in Osu and is an undercover place for discretely meeting gays. Thursday night hosts a live band and is massively popular. Live entertainment starts at 21:00.
8. Champs Sports Bar at the Paloma Hotel complex east of Busy Internet on Ring Road has a good number of gays attending on Friday nights. The bar is in the back of the complex, behind the restaurant. They also have a big-screen for showing international sporting events via satellite as well as American movies on Sunday nights.
9. @ The Office is gayest on Friday nights. Again, sorry I cannot tell you more as this is word from a friend.
10. Lizzie's in Osu, across the street from Papaye. All open seating, good music and cold beer. Busy every night and packed on weekends. This spot is sometimes referred to as "Container", and it will also get a nice crowd Wednesday nights after the Salsa event at Coconut Grove.
11. The Club House in Jamestown is Accra's newest meeting place for gays. Sunday's are best.
11. The De-Mod Hotel near Kokrobite is a gay-owned and operated hotel. It is clearly signposted on the Accra-Cape Coast road, at Tuba Junction, just past Kokrobite. You must make a U-turn immediately past the toll booth and then turn right off the Accra-Cape Coast road. They host a popular barbecue on Sunday afternoons. The food is excellent and the crowd more open, especially at the seating at the far end of the parking lot. The music here is the gayest I have heard anywhere in Ghana.
12. The swimming pool at Shangri-La Hotel can be gay on some Sunday afternoons. Sometimes not.
13. University of Ghana at Legon is a beautiful campus on the northeast side of Accra, near Achimota. Like universities everywhere, gay people can be found here. There is no gay student organization, but gays do meet and socialize here. No moneyboys are working the campus, but there is a gay network of friends that introduce other friends and the campus can be cruisy.
14. Labadi beach. Again moneyboys, so be careful. There is a fair amount of theft that occurs here, so do not leave your belongings unattended to go into the water.
15. The Center for Popular Education and Human Rights (CPEHRG) near Labadi serves as Ghana' s only gay-friendly medical and counseling center as well as the unofficial 'gay community center' for Ghana. This is the only organization in Ghana that is working to serve the needs of LGBT community in Ghana. Tourists are generally not welcome to visit here, but if you are bringing condoms, lube, medical supplies, gay newspapers or gay-themed gifts, you will be welcomed. Remember though, this is an African space and not a pick-up place. (Special note: CPEHRG is among only five organizations awarded the United Nations Development Programme's prestigious Red Ribbon Award for outstanding leadership in responding to HIV/AIDS at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City in August 2008.)
16. Henri's was Accra's only exclusively gay club. The club is now closed. There are no plans to re-establish the club. Updates will be posted here if they occur. Strawberry and Karldorf were also dropped from this list as they are no longer attracting a gay crowd.
17. The following venues were listed in the Spartacus International Travel Guide in an old edition. There is nothing listed for Ghana in the current Spartacus editions. I cannot say anything about any of these venues (some may no longer exist) and welcome feedback. Because gay hangouts change frequently, it is unlikely that these places attract a gay crowd at this time. We pass along this list simply because it was once listed in Spartacus, but my guess is that you will have better luck just walking the streets rather than looking for some obscure spots:
Babylon Night club, Black Pot, Blow-up, Cave du Roi, Kataka Club, Lido Club, Maxim, Moustache, Terra Nova, Tropicana, Uncle's Sam's restaurant, and the Apollo Theater (across from Busy Internet)
17. Outside of Accra, there is a popular gay hangout in Prampram, a beach town about an hour east of Accra. When coming into town, look for the King's Spot on the right side of the main road, painted bright red.
18. There are rumored to be some spots in Tema and Kumasi, but I do not have any reliable information.
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Internet chat with Gays in Ghana
On international gay chat sites, there are a disproportionate number of young men from Ghana professing to search for true love. Many people get excited when first reading all the lovely gay profiles professing a search for romantic love. Well, none of it is true! Let us be direct and say that 98% of these guys online do not rank above a 3 on the Kinsey Scale of Human Sexuality. Only a small 2% of the guys on these gay chat sites are 'gay' in the sense you think of it in the West.
Be careful about African friends you meet online. Two areas especially, the city of Tema, and Christian Village in Achimota, are notorious for the danger that these guys present to gay male tourists. There are a number of horror stories and certainly many travelers have had bad experiences with "gays" they meet online. There are also lots of wonderful stories from gays and lesbians who visit and have a great time with people they meet - regardless of their true orientation.
Just remember, this is a business here. At many Internet cafes there will be 3 or 4 African boys working together, each having multiple chats with foreigners. This is the reason the chat and profiles all sound so similar. Some people are illiterate and hire typists who move from computer to computer answering chat messages. They work together to help each other formulate responses to questions in chats and email. They cut-and-paste sweet love.
Any person who comes at you with instant love is a faker or a scammer. The instant love they feel for you is love for the opportunity that you present and the money you have. The scams sound sincere, but all involve you sending money. Even if you are a poor person in your country, you are a very rich person by comparison to most of your African chat buddies. This disparity in wealth profoundly affects any relationship you develop.
Many of the photos in posted profiles are not true. Guys pass around flash drives full of sexy photos to use for online. Look at the background carefully. Look at the clothing, furnishings or electric outlets. There are many clues, so if your online friend is too beautiful, look carefully. Is he a model copied from some online magazine? How long has the profile existed? Profiles with a long history are generally people who have nothing to hide.
Even more shocking though, there are some Internet cafes that are *completely* devoted to this type of activity. It is truly a business, with finders fees paid for arranging a meeting with a foreigner, and 11 and 12 year old year-old boys watching pornography en masse and learning how to chat 'gay'. On the Internet, anybody can be anything, so you really do not know who you are chatting with.
Older Western gay men are regarded as being rich and generous and desperate for needing love, so this has become a booming business. There have even been editorials in newspapers questioning whether Ghana is becoming the Thailand of Africa.
Please, use your common sense and do not be fooled by sweet talk or tales of woe and sorrow. When told of a critical illness needing money, immediately stop talking to that person, no matter how horrible his story may be. Why is this person spending his money in an Internet cafe during a "life-and-death" situation? Be quick to say goodbye to any online "friend" who asks you for money, gifts or help with a visa. Simply say "I do not think you are the correct friend for me in Ghana." The odds are that you will do this 50 times before you meet a legitimate gay person online.
Please be careful with your Internet friends.
Check these sites for further information:
1) Gay visitors to Ghana
2) Gay Dating Scams in Ghana
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Staying Safe
Let us stress that Ghana is a very safe country. You certainly feel safer at any hour of the day or night anywhere in Accra than in any American city. But, as in any developing economy, you will be a target for certain unscrupulous types. Please follow some basic common sense rules.
- Do not tell people the name of the hotel where you are staying.
- Arrange for any meeting to occur in a public place.
- Do not invite strangers to your room.
- Do not photograph or videotape any illegal activities.
- Do not carry or consume any illegal substances.
- Do not leave open food or drink unattended.
- Do not accept a beverage that you did not witness being opened.
The conversations we have had with gay visitors who have gotten into trouble, as well as conversations with a few perpetrators, have been instructive. There are 5 behaviors that put you at greater risk for becoming a victim:
Having said all this, you should keep in mind that if you are faithful to your African friend, they will remain with you always and do whatever possible for you. What people want is a better life. Remember that only 100 years ago in the West, marriage was based on the ability to provide a good life, and not the romantic notion of love. Such is still the situation in much of the world today.
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HIV prevalence in Ghana
Ghana has one of the lowest overall rates of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa. At 4.5%, as last reported by UNAID, this is still considerably higher than the overall HIV prevalence rate of New York City or London, but is far lower than the prevalence rate in the gay neighborhoods of these cities.
The HIV infection rate among 'sex workers', again as reported by UNAID, is estimated to be as high as 20% in Ghana. Unfortunately, UNAID does not provide any further definition of a 'sex worker', so we assume this is an estimate among heterosexual female prostitutes.
Many men in Ghana do not know how to use a condom, nor can they afford them. Also, the condoms available here are rather unpleasant. So unfortunately the use of this preventative measure is rare. This also leads to the spread of other communicable diseases, for which few get treatment.
If you are having sexual relations with any person while you are visiting Ghana, it is your responsibility to ensure the good health of you and your partner. Please use appropriate precautions. Please help educate your partner. Any person will be grateful for any 'safer sex' or other health-related education that you provide. Just the basic health care knowledge you have makes you a brain surgeon by comparison to many people you will meet.
Through our 'One Extra Bag' program, we can arrange for you to donate condoms or other HIV prevention materials to a reputable organization in Ghana. Every little bit helps here.
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What if things go wrong ?
It is very rare for things to go wrong for you while in Ghana. We provide this one basic bit of information in the event that you do find yourself in one of these rare situations: Plan on paying a lot of money! Money solves everything in Africa, but you can expect that any gay problem will cost you dearly.
Dealing with thieves: The most common type of theft is of the trickster variety, where you are somehow convinced to take money from your pocket and give it to people without any threat. Use your common sense.
The second most common theft involves snatching and pick-pocketing. Keep things in the front pockets of your trousers or get a concealed money pouch. Don't wear a lot, or any, jewelry. Do not leave your belongings unattended even for a moment.
When confronted, give in to all demands without question or hesitation. Robbery at gunpoint is extremely rare in Ghana, but it is increasing in certain urban areas. Thieves do not hesitate to use blades or knives that they may possess, but they certainly do not want to kill you. Just give them what they want and do not escalate the situation.
As the thieves are running away, if there are any people around, you can yell and scream very loudly that you have been robbed and point to the robbers. Thieves are dealt with harshly in Ghana by the general population, so it is possible that a crowd may stop the thieves as they run away. Don't count on this happening, but maybe it will help recover your stolen items.
Dealing with police: If your friend arrives with a person claiming to be a police officer, try to immediately resolve the situation. If the officer is not in uniform, there is no way to reliably determine whether the person is a real police officer, as the badge you are shown may be a fake. If an immediate resolution cannot be achieved, try to get other people nearby involved in the discussion, hopefully people who work at the hotel where you are staying. Try your best to avoid going to a police building or getting into a police vehicle by offering something substantial to the officer for his trouble and something to your friend to help him. Always be polite, calm and smiling. Intimidation is what they count on.
If you are taken to a police headquarters, do not play games. While you are presumed innocent until proven otherwise, and proof of these things is difficult, some boys have presented used condoms as evidence which the police freely accept without any testing. At some police headquarters, the police will not hesitate to let you sit in a holding cell with real criminals for the legally permissible 48 hours to think things over if you want to be stubborn. If necessary, immediately contact your embassy for assistance in obtaining a lawyer.
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