Lawmakers in Senegal will introduce a new bill that will double the prison time for people convicted of performing homosexual acts.
Currently people found guilty of homosexuality face up to five years in prison, under the new legislation jail time would be increased to 10 years. Proponents of the bill have described it as covering not just sexual acts, but also “LGBTQ behaviours” according to a report from Reuters.
Prosecutions for homosexuality have been rising in recent years according to reports from Human Rights groups.
Lawmaker Alioune Souare said he had helped draft an update to the anti-LGBT+ legislation.
“We hope to present the proposal to the parliament before the end of the week,” he told Reuters.
Senegal’s President Macky Sall (pictured) has defended the country’s criminalisation of homosexuality. In 2020, following a visit from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Sall said there was no chance of homosexuality being accepted in Senegal.
“We cannot ask Senegal to legalise homosexuality and organise tomorrow’s gay pride,” Sall said. “It is not possible. Our society does not accept it.”
The Senegalese leader said the country’s laws were not homophobic.
“It is our way of living and being. It has nothing to do with homophobia.”
LGBT rights advocates in Senegal are concerned that the forthcoming legislation may be similar to a bill currently being debated in the parliament of neighbouring Ghana.
The proposed laws in Ghana would see longer sentences for people convicted of homosexual acts, ban any LGBTI groups being formed, outlaw advocacy for LGBT rights, and force people to attend conversion therapy sessions.
Senegalese LGBT+ activist Djamil Bangoura called on the international community to pressure authorities to reject the new legislation.
“When individual freedoms, in particular the most sacred -privacy between consenting adults – are attacked, then there is little time left to realise that democracy is in danger,” he said.
Bangoura has experienced homophobic attacks many times over the years for his advocacy work. Earlier this year he was hospitalised and underwent surgery after he was beaten by three men who boarded a bus he travelling on.
On Tuesday a spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that Australia’s High Commissioner to Ghana was being recalled.
“Australia’s High Commissioner to Ghana will conclude his posting on 20 December.” the spokesperson told OUTinPerth.
The spokesperson said there were a wide range of factors that may have lead to the decision to bring High Commissioner Gregory Andrews back to Australia after less than two years in the role, but local media in Ghana have reported that there was pressure to remove Andrews because he had voiced support for the LGBT community and spoken in favour of decriminalising homosexuality.
Graeme Watson
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