Desecration of gay man’s body, student’s suicide spark concerns in Africa
Activists have expressed grave concerns over attacks against LGBTQ people in Senegal and South Africa. The two countries have a different stance towards LGBTQ people: Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in Senegal, while South Africa’s constitution explicitly recognizes LGBTQ people.
They are nevertheless experiencing anti-gay attacks. The body of Cheikh Fall, a 31-year-old gay man, which had been buried in the central Senegalese town of Kaolack was exhumed on Oct.
29. Local residents the following day set it on fire in front of a large crowd after they learned about his sexual orientation. “The Senegalese State is totally uninvolved in the security of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons,” Souleymane Diouf, founder of Collectif Free du Sénégal, a Senegalese LGBTQ rights group, in a previous interview with the Washington Blade. “Complaints are rarely filed.
When an 2SLGBTQIA+ person reports to the authorities a danger or an imminent threat to their life, little is done for the victim.
