about senegal

official name: Republic of Senegal
capital: Dakar
head of state: President Abdoulaye Wade
state: multi party
population: 11,126,832
independence: from France in 1960
languages: French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
religion: Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly Roman Catholic)
currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF)
media: NA

legal wise

status of homosexuality: illegal
age of consent: NA
laws covering homosexual activity: Article 319, paragraph 3 of the Senegal Penal Code, in the edition of the law of n° 66-16 of 12 February 1966 bans homosexual conduct as follows:

"Sans préjudice des peines plus graves prévues par les alinéas qui précèdent ou par les articles 320 et 321 de présent Code, sera puni d’un emprisonnement d’un à cinq ans et d’une amende de 100.000 à 1.500.000 frnacs, quiconque aura commis un acte impudique ou contre nature avec un individu de son sexe. Si l’acte a été commis avec un mineur de 21 ans, le maximum de la peine sera toujoure prononcé."

("Without prejudice to the more serious penalties provided for in the preceding paragraphs or by articles 320 and 321 of this Code, whoever will have committed an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex will be punished by imprisonment of between one and five years and by a fine of 100,000 to 1,500,000 francs. If the act was committed with a person below the age of 21, the maximum penalty will always be applied" - Translation by Nigel Warner)

The Swedish Embassy were advised of a recent case in which the individuals concerned had been sentenced to imprisonment of between one month and a year.
Source ILGA)

background information and government attitudes:
"But of course gay men and lesbians exist and make contact in the street. Society tolerates them. For example, they are not assaulted. But they are considered to bring shame upon their families. For example, when they die they are not buried in the same burial plot. They are buried separately. Only a few close relatives are present at their funeral. Islam condemns homosexuality and forbids believers from becoming involved. For this reason, legal recognition is not something which is going to happen overnight.

As regards the question of prisoners of conscience, the fact that Amnesty has taken up homosexuality in its mandate creates problems for our activists. We even have difficulties in discussing it in our meetings."

(message from an Amnesty International member in Senegal to Olivier Jablonski - 16th December 1998)

9.95: At UN 4th Conference on Women in Beijing opposed the (unsuccessful) proposal for inclusion of references to "sexual orientation" in the draft "Platform for Action"

Voted against granting ILGA consultative status at the UN in January 2002.

communication

main lines in use: 234,916 (2001)
cellular telephones: 373,965 (2001).
Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001).
Radios: 1.24 million (1997).
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997).
Televisions: 361,000 (1997).
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2002).
Internet users: 100,000 (2002).

links and contacts
NA

j 'ai dit à ma femme que je suis hommosexuel après dix ans

senegal's gay community confronts social taboos

gays fight to be included in anti-aids campaigns