Senegal

Same-gender activities between men and women are criminalised in Senegal by the punishment of 1-5 years imprisonment and a fine of 100,000-1,500,000 francs (€150–€2,300). Maximum penalty applies when sexual activities include a person under 21. There are no anti-discrimination laws regarding hate speech, violence, and employment in Senegal and same-gender couples are also not legally recognised. There is no legal gender change for transexual people. In 2016, Senegalese President Macky Sall has said he would never legalise homosexuality under his authority in the Senegalese lands. Senegal's National Police is known to arrest and arbitrarily detain LGBTQIA+ persons who are presumed to have had same-gender sexual activity.​

LGBTQIA+ communities face daily discrimination in Senegal. The level of intolerance towards sexual minorities in the country is reported to concern 90%+ of the Senegalese society. Hostility against LGBTQIA+ people is thus very strong. Violence, stigmatisation, and discrimination are widespread and LGBTQIA+ individuals are subject to public violence, frequent threats, mob attacks, robberies, expulsions, blackmail, and even rape. In 2020 (despite the daily difficulties that LBGTQIA+ individuals face in Senegal) some Islamic conservatives are continuing with LGBTQIA+-phobic assaults. In 2021, several hundred protesters rallied in Dakar and burned a rainbow flag to demand that homosexuality should become considered a crime in Senegal. They believed that being LGBTQIA+ goes against the country’s faith and values. ​

There are some activists but there is currently no association nor organisation existing in- or outside of Senegal. No helpline can be found to help sexual minorities in the country. ​

Many Senegalese LGBTQIA+ people live in fear and are thus forced to leave home. Some migrate to Mauritania, where they may be granted refugee status from the UNHCR. Only a few are selected for resettlement in North America and Europe. For many Senegalese, the destinations of migration are mostly French speaking European countries such as French or Belgium. ​