Senegal has formally signed into law a bill that doubles the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations from five to ten years, in a move that human rights organisations have condemned as a catastrophic retreat from the principles of individual liberty and human dignity.
The law, passed by the National Assembly in March with an overwhelming majority, was signed by President Faye despite impassioned pleas from domestic and international advocacy groups. It now stands as one of the most punitive anti-LGBTQ statutes anywhere on earth. Under the new legislation, not only are consensual same-sex relations criminalised, but “the promotion, advocacy, or encouragement” of homosexuality is also punishable by up to five years in prison.
From Tolerance to Terror
Senegal has historically occupied a complicated middle ground on LGBTQ issues. While same-sex relations were never legal, the country was generally regarded as more tolerant than Ghana or Nigeria. That fragile equilibrium is now shattered.
“It’s not just about the law,” said Mame Pika Diallo, a Dakar-based human rights lawyer. “When the state officially declares that gay people are criminals deserving of a decade in prison, ordinary people feel licensed to hunt them.”
The Political Calculus
The law emerged from a broader political environment in which opposition parties successfully framed LGBTQ rights as a foreign, Western imposition incompatible with Senegalese and Islamic values. The ruling Pastef party found itself cornered and ultimately capitulated to conservative pressure rather than risk a politically devastating confrontation.
Amnesty International has called on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to intervene urgently. For Senegal’s LGBTQ community, the signing of this law is not merely a legal setback. It is an existential moment.