Community Engaged Project: LGBT Empowerment in Ghana

This research examines the potential of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) to challenge and re-imagine the ideological foundations of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Sasso (LGBTS) empowerment programs in Ghana. These programs, often disseminated globally by international human rights NGOs based in the United States and Europe, frequently operate on unexamined assumptions about human agency and individual empowerment. Consequently, they may overlook the nuances of sexual practices and the historical and cultural contexts that can either hinder or enhance capacity-building initiatives. Through CBPR, this collaborative study brought together eight Human Rights NGO staff members and 20 LGBTS community members to rethink how they conceptualize LGBTS empowerment and the barriers to achieving it. This project facilitated collective reflection on LGBTS empowerment and allowed co-researchers to develop a culturally relevant framework that better meets the needs of those who utilize their services.