Senegal: President Signs Harsher Anti-LGBTQ Law

Government-critical narrative

Senegal’s move to double prison terms for same-sex acts to 10 years is a serious escalation that undermines basic rights and deepens fear. Despite near-unanimous backing, U.N. officials and UNAIDS warn it will drive vulnerable communities away from HIV services as arrests, harassment and mob violence — including the exhumation of a man’s body in Kaolack — intensify. Framing it as cultural defense ignores its colonial roots; in practice, it legitimizes persecution.