Activists in the region say politicians regard LGBTQ+ people as ‘the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power’
A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.
In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the “promotion” of homosexuality. Niger criminalised “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country.
Mali and Burkina Faso, which neighbours Niger, also criminalised same-sex relations for the first time in the last two years. All three are ruled by military juntas.
In June, Ghana, which already outlaws gay sex, passed a law criminalising LGBTQ+ “activities”. The bill, which hasn’t been signed into law by the president, is the latest iteration of a bill that was first introduced in 2021.
