DAKAR — Senegal's parliament ratified a bill on March 11 to increase prison terms for consensual same-sex acts from a maximum of five years to ten years. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is expected to sign the legislation proposed by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

Consensual same-sex conduct is criminalized under Article 319 of the Penal Code, which prohibits acts against nature. Local media reported dozens of arrests since early February, including prominent journalist Pape Biram Bigué Ndiaye who was later released. A dozen gay men were arrested in Dakar, and police said they have several cases under investigation.

And Samm Djiko Yi, or Together for the Preservation of Values, has organized recent protests and led the campaign to increase prison time for homosexuality. Serigne Ababacar Mboup, founder of the group, said "Homosexuality is contrary to our customs, our values, and our beliefs. We are not trying to impose anything on you, so in turn, learn to respect people and their positions, especially on societal issues." At a protest in Dakar in February, people chanted anti-gay slogans.

The Senegalese parliament tried unsuccessfully in 2022 and 2024 to increase penalties for homosexuality. Human Rights Watch said anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has intensified in Senegal in recent years. In October 2023 in Kaolack, 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.

Free Senegal helps relocate LGBTQ+ people who have faced prosecution in Senegal. The organization operated a safe house in Dakar until 2025 and then closed it due to fears that neighbors would tell authorities. Some LGBTQ+ people flee Senegal because of prosecution or fear of persecution. A man who fled to France in 2000 after appearing in a documentary about gay rights now helps run Free Senegal remotely.

Senegal is the latest country in Africa, where over half of African states have laws against homosexuality, to pursue harsher penalties for same-sex conduct. The law against homosexuality was previously sporadically enforced in Senegal. Uganda introduced the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality in recent years. "Intentional transmission of HIV" is a common accusation in Senegal for any sexual act that involves an HIV-positive person.