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Updated: 1 Sep 2015 (Double talk from political leaders on gay rights)

There is no criminalisation of homosexuality in Senegal. Article 319 talks about acts contrary to nature. The fact of being homosexual in Senegal is not a crime, and there has been no prosecution or trial of persons who are homosexual under the Criminal Code.
Senegal specifically outlaws same-sex sexual acts and, in the past, has prosecuted men accused of homosexuality. Heavy fines and jail sentences of up to 5 years apply. LGBT persons face routine discrimination in society.
A 2013 survey indicated 97 percent of Senegal residents believe that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, a figure unchanged from 2007.
Senegalese law does not specifically make LGBT persons ineligible to adopt.
In 2013, while visiting Senegal, United States President Barack Obama called for African countries to give gays equal rights under the law. Senegal President Macky Sall responded by saying that “We are still not ready to decriminalise homosexuality.”.
The 2013 Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Committee made a lengthy list of recommendations including the decriminalisation of same-sex sexual relations and introduction of anti-discrimination protections. All these recommendations were refused by the government of Senegal.

Broadcast: 1 Sep 2015

Double talk from political leaders on gay rights

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Listen to the podcast to discover:

what was the incident that led to the arrest and jailing of these 7 men?
how common is it for parents to report their own children to the police for homosexuality?
government comments that being homosexual is not a crime although same-sex sexual acts are a crime
what is stopping the government of Senegal from decriminalising homosexuality?
the political impact of religious leaders in this Muslim dominant country
how these laws impact the delivery of HIV services
what the international community can do