Senegal’s lawmakers have continued their assault on the nation’s beleaguered LGBTQ+ community, this time by constitutionally outlawing same-sex marriage.
On 29 June, the West African country’s National Assembly voted to adopt an amendment to the Constitution that defines marriage as a union only between a man and a woman.
The measure received unanimous approval by all 129 members present.
While Senegal’s Constitution previously did not specify the gender or sex of those entering into a marriage, same-sex marriage has never been legal in the country.
The constitutional amendment effectively blocks any future attempt to pass legislation introducing marriage equality.
Constitutional Amendment Targets Marriage Equality
A Senegalese political observer told Erasing 76 Crimes that the constitutional change aimed to “reassure the Senegalese people that [the ruling PASTEF party] will pursue an anti-LGBT agenda.”
The observer added that it also “helps to rally the ranks within the ruling party following the rifts that led to the dismissal of former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko”.
The amendment follows recent changes to Senegal’s penal code that introduced provisions explicitly targeting LGBTQ+ people for the first time in the country’s history.
Broader Crackdown on LGBTQ+ Rights
Under the new code, anyone who “commits or attempts to commit an immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender, Queer, intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts” faces between five and ten years’ imprisonment, in addition to a fine.
The code also imposes the same penalty on anyone who “artificially changes or attempts to change their birth sex” and provides for up to 20 years’ imprisonment for anyone who attempts to enter into a same-sex marriage.
People who operate LGBTQ+ organisations also face fines and prison sentences, while reports indicate that organisations providing HIV services have also been affected by the crackdown.
The legal changes have already led to the reported arrest of around 40 people, including high-ranking customs and police officials, as authorities intensify their enforcement of the country’s expanding anti-LGBTQ+ measures.
