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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84 Articles
Senegal approves law increasing penalties for homosexual relations
Lawmakers in Senegal have approved new legislation that significantly increases criminal penalties for same-sex relations, intensifying the country’s already strict laws against homosexuality. The bill was passed by the National Assembly yesterday with overwhelming support from lawmakers. Under the new law, the maximum prison sentence for consensual same-sex relations will rise from five years to […] The post Senegal approves law increasing pena…
In Senegal, same-sex sexual relations will be punished with five to ten years in prison.
On Wednesday, the Parliament of Senegal passed a law that doubles the maximum penalty for same-sex relations, with up to 10 years in prison. The text, which is now to be promulgated by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has been approved by an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly, reports AFP. It also includes criminal penalties for those found guilty of promoting or financing same-sex relations. Specifically, the penalties between homos…
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