US EditionSenegal Doubles Prison Terms for Same-Sex Acts to 10 Years
Senegal's National Assembly voted 135-0 to double prison terms to 10 years and increase fines up to $17,700 for same-sex relations, fulfilling a government campaign promise.
- In Dakar on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, the National Assembly approved a law doubling prison terms for same-sex relations, awaiting President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's signature.
- Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko introduced the bill last month after a wave of arrests, including 27 men detained between February 9 and February 24, and rallies by religious associations boosted pressure for tougher laws.
- The law raises prison terms to five to 10 years for acts against nature, increases fines to two million to 10 million CFA francs, and bars sentence reductions or suspensions.
- Human Rights Watch researcher Kojou� warned that criminalizing same-sex conduct violates rights, while social media naming fuels stigma.
- Rights groups note the vote follows a regional trend of tougher laws, with Senegal joining countries imposing 10-year-plus penalties and listing 'transsexuality', zoophilia, and necrophilia as offences.
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121 Articles
The minimum sentence for same-sex sex is being increased to five years.
And it imposes fines of €15,000. UNAIDS denounces that this law "pushes people underground and takes them away from life-saving services." More information: Uganda's 'crossing' against homosexuality: "Africa must save the world from degeneration"
The Batesville Daily Guard
読売新聞オンラインSenegal becomes latest African country to toughen punishment for homosexual acts
Senegal’s parliament has approved a bill that toughens punishment for homosexuality in the largely conservative West African nation. The proposed law was introduced to parliament last month by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. It doubles the punishment from prison sentences of…
Senegal doubles maximum penalty for same-sex activity to 10 years' jail
Senegal's National Assembly late on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a bill doubling the maximum prison term for same-sex sexual acts to 10 years and criminalising any efforts to promote...
Senegal's parliament draws closer to double prison time for LGBTQ+ people
Senegal’s President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, promised to make the bill law after a series of gay men were arrested in February 2026 The post Senegal’s parliament draws closer to double prison time for LGBTQ+ people appeared first on Attitude.
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