Senegal Signs Law Raising Same-Sex Relations Jail Term to 10 Years, Criminalises “Promotion”

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has signed a new law increasing the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations to 10 years, while also expanding the scope of offences to include the “promotion” of homosexuality, following the National Assembly’s adoption of a bill on March 12th.

Same-sex relations were already illegal in Senegal, and the new law comes despite international pressure, after a wave of arrests and rising political pressure, fulfilling a campaign pledge by the current leadership.