Health experts and government data in Senegal indicate that a wave of arrests targeting LGBTQ individuals is causing fewer patients to visit some HIV treatment centres in that country, endangering the nation’s battle against the infection.
Senegal, a country where homosexuality is prohibited, upped the maximum prison sentence for same-sex sexual conduct to ten years last month and made any attempts to promote it unlawful. Additionally, the maximum fine was raised by the nation to 10 million CFA francs ($18,000).
86 people have been detained in a crackdown that started in early February as President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s administration was getting ready to submit the new anti-LGBTQ law in parliament, according to local human rights activists and media sources. Near a single operation on April 19 near Linguere, 300 kilometres (186 miles) northeast of Dakar, 18 people were taken into custody.
The new statute has resulted in two convictions.
Those detained have been charged with “acts against nature” and, in certain situations, intentionally infecting others with HIV. The number of arrests was not disclosed by the administration.
According to data from the National Council for the Fight Against AIDS (CNLS) of the Senegalese government, people are avoiding essential antiretroviral medications, which both treat and suppress HIV, out of concern for abuse or incarceration.
Requests for response were not answered by a government spokeswoman, a police spokesperson, or a lawmaker who supported the legislation.
According to Dr. Safiatou Thiam, a former health minister and executive director of CNLS, some Senegalese media sites have published the entire identities and HIV statuses of jailed people, putting them at danger of abuse and stigmatisation for the first time.
”Health professionals are dedicated to maintaining patient confidentiality and urging law enforcement to follow suit. “We certainly fear, and this has been confirmed, that this wave of arrests will have repercussions for our work,” she stated.
