The recent detention of 12 men in Senegal using homophobic laws have intensified concerns over the country’s criminalization of same-sex relations and the safety of people living with HIV and/or AIDS.
On February 9, gendarmes in Dakar arrested 12 men on various charges, including “acts against nature” and the alleged intentional transmission of HIV. The men could face up to five years in prison, with fines of 100,000 to 1,500,000 CFA (about US$180 to 2,700) for alleged same sex conduct, as well as up to ten years in prison for the alleged intentional transmission of HIV.
Senegal criminalizes consensual same‑sex conduct under article 319 of the Penal Code, which prohibits “acts against nature.” In a country where people already face violence and discrimination based on their sexual orientation or HIV status, high-profile negative media coverage of these arrests is fueling fear among the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. One activist told Human Rights Watch that community‑based health workers are extremely worried about potential legal repercussions if their contact details are discovered on the detained men’s devices.
Hostility toward LGBT people has intensified in Senegal in recent years. Members of parliament have twice—in 2022 and 2024—sought unsuccessfully to increase the custodial and financial penalties for “acts against nature.” In October 2023, in the town of Kaolack, 200 kilometers southeast of the capital Dakar, a mob exhumed the body of a man they believed to be gay, dragged it through the streets, and burned it in the town square. The spectacle attracted a large crowd, and videos of the incident subsequently went viral in Senegal.
Criminalizing same‑sex conduct and arresting people for their sexual orientation or gender expression violates multiple internationally protected rights, including to equality and nondiscrimination. Using condoms, lubricants, or HIV treatment as evidence of same-sex conduct; forcing HIV testing; and publishing someone’s HIV status breach privacy rights and relevant international norms and deter people from seeking care, undermining essential HIV prevention and treatment efforts.
The Senegalese government should act on its obligations to respect and protect LGBT people’s rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, including by releasing those arrested and repealing discriminatory and homophobic laws.
