Senegal

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

15.8 million

World Bank, 2018

Estimated SGM Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

N/A

N/A

The number of men who have sex with men is estimated to be 930,000, though this data comes with no clarification as to how many of these men identify as LGBTQ+ (UNAIDS). Additionally, as this data was collected with the purposes of HIV/AIDS research, there is no information on members of other SGM groups. The country has previously come under fire for jailing AIDS activists under the pretenses of “unnatural acts” and “belonging to a criminal association” (NYTimes, 2009). Given these circumstances, as well as a culture in which 96% of people believe homosexuality should not be accepted by society (Pew Research Center, 2013), it is not surprise that no research has been done assessing the specific needs of the LGBTQ+ population of Senegal.

Senegal's Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
No
Civil Unions
No
Joint Adoption
No
Second Parent Adoption
No
PROTECTION
Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
No
Broad Protections
No
Criminalization of Violence
No
Ban of Conversion Therapy
No
CRIMINALIZATION
Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
No
Gender
Any Gender
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
5

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

Ellen E Foley & Rokhaya Nguer (2010) Courting success in HIV/AIDS prevention: the challenges of addressing a concentrated epidemic in Senegal, African Journal of AIDS Research, 9:4, 325-336, DOI: 10.2989/16085906.2010.545628

Mapping Political Homophobia in Senegal BORIS BERTOLT and LEA E.J.S. MASSE https://sites.clas.ufl.edu/africanquarterly/files/v18i4a2.pdf

Nicole Angotti, Tara McKay, Rachel Sullivan Robinson; Lgbt Visibility and Anti-Gay Backlash: Unintended Consequences of Responses to HIV/AIDS in Malawi and Senegal. Sociology of Development 1 March 2019; 5 (1): 71–90. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/sod.2019.5.1.71

Poteat, T., Diouf, D., Drame, F. M., Ndaw, M., Traore, C., Dhaliwal, M., Beyrer, C., & Baral, S. (2011). HIV risk among MSM in Senegal: a qualitative rapid assessment of the impact of enforcing laws that criminalize same sex practices. PloS one, 6(12), e28760. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028760