Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men. Sentences include a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Last updated: 5 October 2023
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Penal Code 2016, which criminalises ‘indecent acts or acts against nature’. This provision carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine. Both men and women are criminalised under this law.
Guinea has criminalised same-sex sexual activity since at least its 1998 Penal Code. In 2016 a new Penal Code was adopted, in which the criminalising provision was maintained and substantively unchanged.
There is limited evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, with LGBT people being occasionally subject to arrest. Reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in recent years are rare due to widespread social stigma which prevents them from reporting incidents.
In 2016, a new Penal Code was adopted. This Code maintained the criminalising provisions found in the 1998 Penal Code.
The US Department of State reports, including 2022, have not found any examples of prosecutions in recent years, although a unit within the Ministry of Security exists to investigate ‘morals offences’, including same-sex sexual activity. The reports mention that LGBT individuals face harassment and persecution by law enforcement officials and often pay bribes in order to avoid arrest.
Amnesty International noted in a report on Guinea that at least three people were arrested due to their sexual orientation in 2015-2016, and two were sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.
The 2013 US Department of State report noted that authorities allegedly arrested ‘cross-dressing men’ in nightclubs on public nuisance charges. It is not clear whether these arrests resulted in prosecutions.
The US Department of State report highlighted that “deep religious and cultural taboos existed against consensual same-sex sexual conduct.” There were no reports of anti-LGBT discrimination, though the report noted societal stigma likely prevents victims from reporting incidents.
A report by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada noted an incident in which two young people who wore t-shirts supporting LGBT rights were attacked and then arrested by police.
Sierra Leone criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men. Sentences include a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Liberia criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men and between women. Sentences include a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment.
The Gambia criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men and between women. The gender expression of trans people is also criminalised. Sentences include a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
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