Harsher anti-LGBTQ+ law approved

Senegal's Parliament has approved a Bill doubling the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations to 10 years, reports DW. Lawmakers passed the government-backed legislation by 135 votes to none, with three abstentions. 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. 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'. The new law criminalising the promotion of homosexuality also increased the fine to up to 10m CFA francs ($17 700) from 1.5m CFA francs ($2 600). Furthermore, it bars judges from granting suspended sentences or reducing a prison term below the minimum in the Muslim-majority West African country. Ahead of the passage of the law, between 9 and 24 February, 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. 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. More than half of the about 65 countries worldwide that criminalise same-sex relations are in Africa.

Full report on the DW site

Senegalese proponents of a tougher anti-LGBT law discussed campaign strategy and mobilisation tactics with a US-based ‘pro-family’ group that calls homosexuality a public health threat, activists in both countries told Reuters. According to a report in RNZ, the US group MassResistance, known for its work at home pushing legislation against same-sex marriage and denouncing ‘the transgender war on cultural norms’, has advised like-minded African activists for years. But now it is trying to take advantage of what it sees as a more restrictive approach by US President Donald Trump's administration towards the rights of same-sex couples. Beyond Senegal, it has been involved in recent advocacy supporting a proposed new anti-LGBT law in Ghana. ‘There's a renewed push to put in place these strict bans on the promotion and proliferation of LGBT ideology now because President Trump is not in the business of harassing and bullying countries to incorporate these destructive ideologies,’ the group's field director, Arthur Schaper, told Reuters. The collaboration between MassResistance, headquartered in Massachusetts, and And Samm Jikko Yi, a Senegalese network of Islamic and civil society organisations, has not previously been reported.

Full report on the RNZ site