Senegal has apparently decided that the best way to handle a marginalized community is to arrest more than 320 of them, force them into HIV testing, and make sure their lawyers are too scared to show up. According to a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW), citing the HIV Justice Network, mass arrests, forced HIV testing, and barriers to legal representation are all part of an escalating crackdown on LGBTQ+ people in the country.
Since February, more than 320 individuals have been arrested and detained on allegations of "acts against nature." Among them, at least 84 were charged with "voluntary HIV transmission" - solely because of their HIV status. Because nothing says "public health" like criminalizing people for a virus they may not even have known they had.
The timing is not coincidental. On 11 March, Senegal's parliament amended the penal code, doubling the maximum prison term for consensual same-sex relations to 10 years. The new law also introduced penalties of up to seven years in prison and fines of 500,000 to 5 million CFA francs (£650 - £6,500) for promoting homosexuality, or supporting or financing LGBTQ+ people and organisations. So, in case you were wondering, yes, it is now illegal to be a good ally.
Larissa Kojoué, LGBTQ+ rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: "LGBTQ+ people are being forced to curb their normal activities … for fear of arrest and increased stigma. Senegal's government should call a halt to this crackdown, which threatens everyone's rights." A novel concept, that: rights for everyone.
Same-sex sexual activity was criminalised in Senegal back in 1965, but hostility has grown in recent years. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who won the election, and former prime minister Ousmane Sonko promised to strengthen laws criminalising same-sex relations, framing the issue as a national priority. Because when you can't fix the economy, there's always the time-honoured tradition of scapegoating a minority.
Arrests of men and women have happened all over the country. Police say they have arrested people based on information extracted from seized phones, third-party allegations, or raids on private premises. So, your phone is now a witness against you, and your neighbour's grudge is probable cause.
The changes to the penal code have had a chilling effect on lawyers, who said they were afraid to represent people for fear of being prosecuted themselves, according to the report. Doctors told Human Rights Watch that the changes were discouraging people from seeking HIV testing and treatment. Because what better way to fight a public health crisis than to make people too terrified to seek care?
While there was a 49% fall in new HIV infections in western and central Africa from 2010 to 2022, sub-Saharan Africa remains disproportionately affected by the virus, with 64% of all people living with HIV globally. Senegal was previously doing well with its HIV response, but now? Not so much.
Sylvie Beaumont, a consultant with HIV Justice Network, said she had received anecdotal evidence that HIV clinics had seen a drop in attendance. "Obviously this is not good for the HIV response because people are going without treatment, they're not going to get tested," she said. "The consequences are really bad and it's sad because Senegal was a country that was doing well with their HIV response. They are shooting themselves in the foot."
She said while the law criminalising deliberate HIV transmission was not part of the reforms this year, there had been an "unprecedented" rate of arrests in recent months. She labelled the charges "nonsensical" because it was reported that most people had either only discovered their status upon arrest; were arrested with condoms; or were on treatment that renders transmission of the virus impossible. So, to summarise: you can be charged for transmitting a virus you didn't know you had, while carrying condoms, or while on medication that makes transmission impossible. That's not justice; that's a Kafkaesque farce.
The report also said police had breached confidentiality of ongoing criminal investigations involving suspected LGBTQ+ people by leaking details to the media, which reported personal and confidential information, including HIV status - exposing individuals to social stigma, family rejection, threats, and violence. Because nothing says "protect and serve" like doxxing people to a hostile public.
LGBTQ+ people interviewed by Human Rights Watch said the crackdown was instilling fear among their community, causing anxiety and depression. Many have gone into hiding, restricted their movements, or relocated; some have left the country. The report pointed out that the crackdown flies in the face of domestic and international laws that guarantee the right to a fair trial, privacy, and non-discrimination. Details, details.
Senegal's penal code changes are part of a broader trend across sub-Saharan Africa towards more punitive legislation directed against LGBTQ+ people. There have been dozens of arrests in Niger since it criminalised "sexual relations with a person of the same sex" in February - the first time in the country's history that homosexuality had been criminalised - following similar laws in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso within the past two years. All three are ruled by military juntas. In May, Ghana, which already outlaws gay sex, passed legislation criminalising LGBTQ+ "activities." The bill, which has not been signed into law by the president, is the latest iteration of legislation first proposed in 2021. In 2023, Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act made homosexual acts punishable by death.
So, to recap: Senegal has doubled down on a 1965 law, arresting hundreds, charging people with HIV transmission for having the audacity to exist, and scaring off lawyers and doctors. Meanwhile, the region is racing to see who can be the most punitive. It's a race nobody should want to win, and yet here we are.