Renovated Dakar Railway station inaugurated, May 2026.
Senegal’s intensifying crackdown on LGBT people is violating their rights and causing increasing fear and stigma. Fear of arrest and stigma are causing people to go into hiding, to avoid HIV testing and treatment, and deterring lawyers from representing them. The crackdown on LGBT people calls into question Senegal’s compliance with its own laws and international law, as well as the Olympic charter, given it will host the Youth Olympics Games at the end of the month.
(Dakar) Senegal’s growing crackdown on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people is violating their rights, causing increasing fear and stigma, and should be ended immediately, Human Rights Watch said today. Mass arrests forced HIV testing and barriers to legal representation appear to be part of an increase in punitive government action against LGBT people in West Africa.
On March 11, 2026, Senegal’s parliament amended article 319 of the penal code, doubling to 10 years the maximum prison term for consensual same-sex conduct and criminalizing “promotion” of or support to LGBT people and organizations. The amendment followed the detention by security forces of at least five men in Thiès region in December 2025 and 12 men in the capital, Dakar, in February 2026 on charges including “acts against nature” and “intentional transmission of HIV.” Police and gendarmerie then escalated arrests of suspected LGBT people in various other cities including Thiès, Rosso, Saint Louis, Yeumbeul, and Ziguinchor.
“LGBT people are being forced to curb their normal activities and to keep from exercising their rights for fear of arrest and increased stigma,” said Larissa Kojoué, LGBT rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Senegal’s government should call a halt to this crackdown, which threatens everyone’s rights.”
Human Rights Watch interview
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