Multiple West African nations have recently passed or toughened legislation targeting LGBTQ+ individuals, according to rights campaigners. Senegal increased maximum prison sentences for same-sex relations to 10 years in March and criminalized the promotion of homosexuality. Niger criminalized same-sex intimacy for the first time in February, while Mali and Burkina Faso also outlawed same-sex relations within the last two years. Ghana, which already prohibited gay sex, passed a law in June criminalizing LGBTQ+ activities, though the measure awaits presidential signature.
Activists identify political opportunism as a common factor across these legislative efforts. In some contexts, religious organizations and family values campaigns have driven the measures forward. In Burkina Faso, authorities framed the law as asserting national sovereignty against Western influence, despite the country’s predominantly Muslim population. Campaigners note that international conservative Christian groups, including Arizona-based Family Watch International and the Christian Council International, have supported efforts to advance anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the continent through forums such as the African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty.
The practical impact on LGBTQ+ communities has been severe even before full implementation of new laws. In Burkina Faso, activists report that transgender women faced detention without trial and alleged beatings by military units. Police have employed social media entrapment tactics and coerced arrested individuals to inform on other community members. An HIV worker fled the country after being identified by an arrested person.
The legislative trend extends regional consequences. Senegal’s stricter law has hindered HIV prevention efforts for populations with higher disease prevalence, including men who have sex with men and transgender women. Approximately 100 Senegalese residents fled to neighboring Gambia this year, though most returned due to lack of resources. The crackdown has also increased broader homophobia in surrounding areas, according to regional health workers and activists monitoring the situation.
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