The Politics of Scapegoat: West Africa's Deepening Anti-LGBTQ+ Wave
A disturbing legislative current is sweeping across West Africa, marked by an escalating drive to implement or strengthen anti-LGBTQ+ laws. This trend, campaigners warn, is rooted in local political pressures, often fueled by a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights, where politicians exploit vulnerable communities as 'the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power,' according to activists in Burkina Faso.
The past two years alone have seen significant legal shifts. In March, Senegal notably doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to a severe 10 years and criminalized the very 'promotion' of homosexuality. February saw Niger criminalize 'sexual relations with a person of the same sex' for the first time in its history. This pattern extends to Mali and Burkina Faso, both of which also criminalized same-sex relations for the first time within the last two years. A critical commonality among Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso is their governance by military juntas.
Ghana, already with laws outlawing gay sex, passed a bill in June to criminalize LGBTQ+ 'activities.' While this bill, first introduced in 2021, has yet to be signed into law by the president, its passage signals a clear legislative intent. Anthony Oluoch of Pan Africa ILGA, a continental LGBT+ rights campaign group, identifies a pervasive 'political opportunism' across these developments, noting how religious groups and 'family values' campaigns often back these harsher laws. Burkina Faso, a predominantly Muslim nation, even framed its legislation as a boost to its sovereignty against the west, underscoring a complex interplay of local and 'transnational reinforcement,' as Oluoch points out.
The real-world impact on the LGBTQ+ community is immediate and devastating, even before full implementation. Activists report that 13 transgender women were detained without trial from June to November last year, with accounts of being beaten by a military unit. Following the passage of laws, at least two sets of convictions have already occurred. Police tactics have become more aggressive, including entrapping LGBTQ+ individuals on social media and demanding they denounce other community members, leading to situations like an HIV worker fleeing Burkina Faso in May after being named by someone under arrest.
This regional legislative regression is not an isolated phenomenon. Despite military president Ibrahim Traoré’s anti-western rhetoric, Burkina Faso has attracted the attention of conservative, western Christian groups. The upcoming African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty, a forum widely believed to influence anti-LGBTQ+ laws, is slated for Burkina Faso next year, followed by Eswatini. This follows its initial three annual conferences held in Uganda since 2023, the same year Uganda imposed the death penalty for some same-sex sexual acts. This international nexus, with support from groups like the Arizona-based Family Watch International (FWI), underscores a deeply coordinated effort to legislate against LGBTQ+ rights across the continent.
Ultimately, the surge in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across West Africa represents more than just a cultural or moral stance; it is a calculated political maneuver. Driven by opportunism and bolstered by specific local and international influences, these laws serve to consolidate power for regimes—particularly military juntas—at the grave expense of human rights and personal security for an entire segment of the population. The ramifications extend beyond specific communities, signaling a troubling erosion of fundamental freedoms under the guise of 'family values' and 'sovereignty' across the continent.