The Gambia

Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Code 1934, which criminalises acts of ‘carnal knowledge against the order of nature’, ‘gross indecency’, and since 2014, ‘aggravated homosexuality’. The law carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Both men and women are criminalised under this law. In addition to potentially being captured by laws that criminalise same-sex activity, trans people may also face prosecution under a ‘rogues and vagabonds’ law with a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.

The law was inherited from the British during the colonial period, in which the English criminal law was imposed upon The Gambia. It has retained the provision upon independence and continues to criminalise same-sex sexual activity today, repeatedly increasing the scope of the law and the penalties available.

There is substantial evidence of the law being enforced, if less so in recent years, with LGBT people being subject to arbitrary arrest and torture in detention. Former President Yahya Jammeh expressed increasingly hostile views about LGBT persons during his tenure and oversaw a number of crackdowns on the LGBT community. His successor, Adama Barrow, has signalled a less hostile attitude towards LGBT people and there appear to be fewer arrests in recent years, however he has indicated that there is no plan to repeal the laws. There have been consistent reports of strong societal discrimination against LGBT people in The Gambia.

2024

It was reported in March that the leader of the opposition party (Gambia Action Party), Musa Ousainou Yali Batchilly, called on the government to introduce legislation criminalising attempts or advocacy of same-sex marriage. He further called for the criminalisation of advocacy for LGBT rights. He is reported to have said: “We cannot tolerate homosexuality in the country, and I am calling on the government to introduce laws to criminalise the practice and its advocacy.”

It has been reported that in September the National Assembly of the Gambia decided to increase the minimum punishment for “homosexual acts” from two years in prison to five years in prison in the Criminal Offences Bill 2020, which does not appear to have yet become law.

2020

The government denied reports that it was considering repealing or reviewing criminalising laws in exchange for foreign aid.

2018

Despite the ousting of former President Yahya Jammeh in 2017, who was a vocal and vitriolic opponent of LGBT rights, new President Adama Barrow dismissed calls to decriminalise same-sex sexual activity, citing more pressing issues.

2017

It was reported that Gambia’s Foreign Secretary Ousainou Darboe supported the repeal of the law criminalising “aggravated homosexuality”, which carries a life sentence.

2014

In 2014 an amendment to the Criminal Code was passed which introduced the offence of ‘aggravated homosexuality’, in which people living with HIV who engage in same-sex sexual activity, and ‘serial offenders’, can be imprisoned for life.

2013

In 2013 an amendment to the Criminal Code was passed under which gender expression (“any male person who dresses in the fashion of a woman in a public place”) can be penalised by up to five years imprisonment.

2022

Recent reports by the US Department of State on Human Rights Practices in the Gambia, including from 2022 and 2021, have noted that the criminalising provisions appear to not be actively enforced.

2020

The 2020 US Department of State report found that the law was rarely enforced, but did highlight a case of a Senegalese national being arrested for engaging in same-sex sexual activity with another adult.

2018

In January, Amnesty International reported on at least eight arrests as part of a police crackdown of the LGBT community which began in November 2017. Three women, four men, and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in two incidents by the National Intelligence Agency and Presidential Guards in Banjul. They all were investigated for the crimes of homosexuality, and reported being beaten and tortured in detention, and denied access to lawyers.

2015

In May, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions reported, following a mission to the Gambia, that the approval of the 2014 amendment was followed by rounds of arrests and prosecutions of LGBT people.

2014

Amnesty International reported on a police crackdown of LGBT people in November 2014. This wave resulted in eight arrests, and detainees were allegedly tortured.

2012

In April, 18 men and two women were arrested and charged with ‘attempt to commit unnatural offences’. They were attending a dance and allegedly dressed in clothing suitable for women. They were jailed for over a month before being released, and the charges were eventually dropped.

2023

In April, it was reported that LGBT communities continue to face severe discrimination and prosecution in the Gambia, and that no real organised LGBT civil society can operate as it is too dangerous.

2022

The US Department of State Human Rights Practices reports, including in 2022, have consistently found that there is strong societal discrimination against LGBT people. The 2022 report included accounts by members of the community of government-perpetrated violence, including having witnessed police beating 15 persons for allegedly being gay.

In July, the leader of the opposition party Gambia Action Party (not represented in parliament), called for tougher enforcement of laws against homosexuality in the country, promising ‘zero tolerance’ if elected to form the government.

2019

It was reported that in recent discussions with LGBT persons organised by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, participants reported the continuous stigma, harassment and arrest of LGBT persons by the police. They provided accounts of incidents where police had arrived in their houses and arrested them on suspicion of engaging in homosexual behaviour, some being held in detention for days without access to a legal representative.

2017

In February, it was reported that President Adama Barrow stated the Gambia had more pressing issues to focus on than sexuality, suggesting a potentially less active persecution of LGBT people in the country.

2013

The 2013 UK Country of Origin report on The Gambia references an article written about people put on trial for homosexuality which collapsed due to lack of evidence: “the defendants still have the stigma of being ‘outed’ as homosexual, having had their photographs published along with their names. This has led to retribution from the general public and also from some of the defendant’s family who feel that they have dishonoured them.” One man identified in the article discussed his parents’ attempts to force him into an arranged marriage.