{"id":1821572,"date":"2026-03-12T04:40:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T01:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1821572"},"modified":"2026-03-12T04:40:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T01:40:40","slug":"inside-africas-lgbtq-struggle-under-new-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1821572","title":{"rendered":"Inside Africa’s LGBTQ+ struggle under new laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76315550_6.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5ADAH<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
The anti-LGBTQ+ measure was a campaign pledge of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s government [FILE PHOTO: January 20, 2026]Image: Misper Apawu\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Senegal’s parliament on Wednesday approved a bill doubling the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations<\/a> to 10 years.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers passed the government-backed legislation by 135 votes to none, with three abstentions.<\/p>\n

The law, which now requires the president’s signature to take effect, was a major campaign promise of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko in 2024.<\/p>\n

Law targets so-called ‘acts against nature’<\/h2>\n

The latest law strengthens existing legislation that previously allowed prison terms of up to five years for what the penal code describes as “acts against nature.”<\/p>\n

The new law criminalizing the promotion of homosexuality<\/a> also increased the fine to up to 10 million CFA francs ($17,700, \u20ac15,340) from 1.5 million CFA francs ($2,676.18).<\/p>\n

Furthermore, it bars judges from granting suspended sentences or reducing a prison term below the minimum in the Muslim-majority West African country.<\/p>\n

Rising anti-LGBTQ+ trend<\/h2>\n

Ahead of the passage of the law, between February 9 and February 24, some 27 men were arrested on suspicion of “acts against nature” as well as, in some cases, “voluntary transmission” of HIV, a crime carrying up to 10 years in prison, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.<\/p>\n

Rights groups say the measure is part of a broader trend of stricter anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the region, following similar moves in countries including Burkina Faso and proposed legislation in Ghana.<\/p>\n

More than half of the about 65 countries worldwide<\/a>\u00a0that criminalize same-sex relations are in Africa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Inside Africa’s LGBTQ+ struggle under new laws<\/h2>\n

Edited by<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Senegal’s parliament on Wednesday approved a bill doubling the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations<\/a> to 10 years.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers passed the government-backed legislation by 135 votes to none, with three abstentions.<\/p>\n

The law, which now requires the president’s signature to take effect, was a major campaign promise of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko in 2024.<\/p>\n

Law targets so-called ‘acts against nature’<\/h2>\n

The latest law strengthens existing legislation that previously allowed prison terms of up to five years for what the penal code describes as “acts against nature.”<\/p>\n

The new law criminalizing the promotion of homosexuality<\/a> also increased the fine to up to 10 million CFA francs ($17,700, \u20ac15,340) from 1.5 million CFA francs ($2,676.18).<\/p>\n

Furthermore, it bars judges from granting suspended sentences or reducing a prison term below the minimum in the Muslim-majority West African country.<\/p>\n

Rising anti-LGBTQ+ trend<\/h2>\n

Ahead of the passage of the law, between February 9 and February 24, some 27 men were arrested on suspicion of “acts against nature” as well as, in some cases, “voluntary transmission” of HIV, a crime carrying up to 10 years in prison, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.<\/p>\n

Rights groups say the measure is part of a broader trend of stricter anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the region, following similar moves in countries including Burkina Faso and proposed legislation in Ghana.<\/p>\n

More than half of the about 65 countries worldwide<\/a>\u00a0that criminalize same-sex relations are in Africa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Inside Africa’s LGBTQ+ struggle under new laws<\/h2>\n

Edited by<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Senegal’s parliament on Wednesday approved a bill doubling the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations<\/a> to 10 years.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers passed the government-backed legislation by 135 votes to none, with three abstentions.<\/p>\n

The law, which now requires the president’s signature to take effect, was a major campaign promise of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko in 2024.<\/p>\n

The latest law strengthens existing legislation that previously allowed prison terms of up to five years for what the penal code describes as “acts against nature.”<\/p>\n

The new law criminalizing the promotion of homosexuality<\/a> also increased the fine to up to 10 million CFA francs ($17,700, \u20ac15,340) from 1.5 million CFA francs ($2,676.18).<\/p>\n

Furthermore, it bars judges from granting suspended sentences or reducing a prison term below the minimum in the Muslim-majority West African country.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the passage of the law, between February 9 and February 24, some 27 men were arrested on suspicion of “acts against nature” as well as, in some cases, “voluntary transmission” of HIV, a crime carrying up to 10 years in prison, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.<\/p>\n

Rights groups say the measure is part of a broader trend of stricter anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the region, following similar moves in countries including Burkina Faso and proposed legislation in Ghana.<\/p>\n

More than half of the about 65 countries worldwide<\/a>\u00a0that criminalize same-sex relations are in Africa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n

Edited by<\/em><\/p>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/senegal-lawmakers-back-tougher-anti-lgbtq-law-with-up-to-10-years-in-prison\/a-76315569″]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76315550_6.jpg”] https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5ADAH The anti-LGBTQ+ measure was a campaign pledge of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s government [FILE PHOTO: January 20, 2026]Image: Misper Apawu\/AP Photo\/picture alliance Senegal’s parliament on Wednesday approved a bill doubling the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations to 10 years. Lawmakers passed the government-backed legislation by 135 votes to none, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,74],"class_list":["post-1821572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dw-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1821572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1821572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1821572\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1821572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1821572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1821572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}