Senegal passes anti-LGBT bill doubling penalty for same-sex relations

Senegal’s parliament on Wednesday passed a law doubling the maximum prison term for same-sex relations to 10 years, intensifying a crackdown on the LGBTQ community. The bill, which also criminalizes promoting or financing such relationships, now awaits President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s signature amid reports of dozens of arrests since February.The vote - with 135 in favour, zero against and three abstaining - is the final step in adopting the legislation which was a campaign promise of the government that came to power in 2024, led by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. Senegal's penal code already carried an article, last amended in 1966, imposing prison terms of up to five years and fines of up to 1,500,000 CFA francs ($2,676.18) for "acts against nature." But proponents of the new bill said that article was too vague and not tough enough.
Some 27 men were arrested between February 9 and February 24, according to the International Federation for Human Rights. Some of those arrested have faced accusations of deliberately transmitting HIV, fuelling further fierce debate about same-sex relations. Arrests have often been based on accusations and phone searches, which are reported almost daily, with the names of those detained made public. The new law additionally penalises anyone who accuses another of same-sex offences "without proof"."Homosexuals will no longer breathe in this country. Homosexuals will no longer have freedom of expression in this country", lawmaker Diaraye Ba declared from the podium during the debate, to applause from some of her colleagues.
The Senegalese law is part of a wave of anti-LGBT legislation in the region. Last year Burkina Faso passed a law criminalizing same-sex sexual relations for the first time, imposing prison terms of up to five years. Lawmakers in Ghana are considering a new bill that would increase the maximum penalty for same-sex sexual acts from three to five years and impose jail time for the "wilful promotion, sponsorship, or support of LGBTQ+ activities".