US Group Supports Senegal’s Anti-LGBTQI Legislation. Dakar, Senegal — A U. S.
Pro — family group has publicly supported Senegal’s recently enacted anti-homosexuality legislation, a move that has drawn criticism from human rights organizations and the United Nations.
According to various medireports, Senegalese activists advocating for a strict anti — homosexuality bill have engaged in discussions with a U. S.
-based pro-family group on campaign strategy and mobilization tactics.
The U. S.
Group, MassResistance, known for its opposition to same — sex marriage and criticism of what it deems a “transgender war on cultural norms, “has been advising similar African groups for years.
Beyond Senegal, MassResistance has also been involved in advocating for a proposed new anti — LGBT law in Ghana, as reported by reports. “There’s a renewed push to put in place these strict bans on the promotion and proliferation of LGBT ideology now because President Trump is not in the business of harassing and bullying countries to incorporate these destructive ideologies, “the group’s field director, Arthur Schaper, told Reuters.
The collaboration between MassResistance, based in Massachusetts, and Samm Jikko Yi, a Senegalese network of Islamic and civil society organisations, had not been previously reported. Senegalese lawmakers last week approved the new law, which doubles the maximum prison term for same-sex sexual acts to 10 years and criminalises the so-called promotion of homosexuality. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk criticised Senegal’s anti-LGBTQI law and urged the West African country not to enact what he described as a “harmful new anti-LGBT law.”.
“The passing of a new law by Senegal’s parliament, which doubles the maximum jail term for consensual same-sex relations to 10 years and punishes the so-called ‘promotion, support or funding’ of homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality, is deeply worrying,” Türk said in a press release.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, “these rights are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as human rights treaties to which Senegal is a party. ” Reports indicate that the involvement of MassResistance is the first known case of a U.
S.
Group helping to shape a successful push for anti — LGBT legislation in Africa since Trump returned to power in January 2025. Human Rights Watch criticised the move, and said in a statement that “the recent detention of 12 men in Senegal using homophobic laws has intensified concerns over the country’s criminalisation of same-sex relations and the safety of people living with HIV and/or AIDS.
” The men could face up to five years in prison, with fines ranging from 100,000 to 1,500,000 CFA (about US$180 to $2,700) for alleged same-sex conduct, as well as up to 10 years in prison for the alleged intentional transmission of HIV.
Further details are expected as the situation develops.
