WEST AFRICA | Niger criminalises gay sex

Niger has enacted one of the harshest homophobic laws in West Africa, introducing prison sentences of up to 10 years for consensual same-sex relations and up to 20 years for involvement in LGBTQIA+ organisations or same-sex weddings.

The new legislation, reported by Benin Web TV on 11 June, marks a significant shift for the predominantly Muslim country, which until now had no explicit legal ban on homosexuality between consenting adults.

Under the revised penal code, consensual same-sex intimacy is punishable by prison terms ranging from five to 10 years, along with fines of up to 100 million CFA francs, equivalent to roughly €152,000. Participation in a same-sex marriage ceremony can result in sentences of between 10 and 20 years in prison. The same penalties apply to those accused of managing, directing, financing, or simply belonging to organisations or associations deemed to be homosexual or LGBTQIA+.

According to the Associated Press, the law targets anyone who commits or attempts to commit what it describes as “immodest or unnatural acts” or engages in LGBTQIA+ acts. The penal code further stipulates that the same punishment extends to those who officiate same-sex marriages, act as witnesses, consent to the ceremonies, or organise them.

The legislation does not define what constitutes “intersex” or “asexual” acts, despite explicitly referring to them in the text.

Niger is led by President Abdourahamane Tchiani, the former military commander who seized power in a 2023 coup and has ruled as president since 2025.

Although homosexuality had not previously been criminalised in Niger, same-sex relationships remained heavily stigmatised and occasionally resulted in arrests, Erasing 76 Crimes says. Unverified reports suggest that dozens of people had already been detained before the new law formally came into force.

Part of a regional trend

Niger’s decision follows a broader trend across West Africa towards stricter anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. 

In March, Senegal adopted a law imposing prison sentences of up to 10 years for same-sex relations. Ghana‘s parliament also approved a bill that, if signed into law by the president, would impose prison terms of up to three years on people identifying as LGBTQIA+. 

Neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali likewise criminalised homosexuality in 2024, having previously lacked specific anti-gay legislation.

Benin Web TV journalist Mohamed Issa noted that homosexuality had not previously been explicitly penalised under Nigerien law. The country’s colonial-era penal code only sanctioned same-sex sexual or indecent acts involving minors under the age of 21. As a result, Niger had been one of the few countries in the region that did not criminalise consensual same-sex relations between adults.

Issa added that human rights organisations had characterised the growing wave of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation across the region as a setback for civil liberties and individual freedoms. Supporters of the laws, however, argued that they were necessary to defend national religious and cultural values. 

In Niger, where homosexuality has long remained a taboo subject within its predominantly Muslim society, the issue had been socially contentious even before its inclusion in the penal code.

With penalties ranging from five years’ imprisonment for consensual same-sex relations to 20 years for organising or financing LGBTQIA+-related associations, the new legislation places Niger among the most repressive countries in the sub-region when it comes to LGBTQIA+ rights.

LGBTQIA+ and travel

• RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2026 | Spain best of class and breaks Malta’s decade-long hold on Europe’s LGBTQIA+ rights top spot.
• RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2025 | United Kingdom, Hungary and Georgia drop dramatically on LGBTQIA+ rights ranking.
• RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2024 | These are the LGBTQIA+ friendly and LGBTQIA+ unfriendly countries in Europe.
• Belarus adopts sweeping anti-LGBTQIA+ information law, joining global crackdown on queer rights, criminalises “promotion” of homosexuality, gender transition, and childlessness.
• EU Court rules Hungary has to strike down its anti-gay propaganda law.
• ILGA-Europe: Criminalisation of LGBTI people returns to Europe’s doorstep.
• Alarming escalation in repression of LGBTI+ activists in Turkey: court rulings and prosecutions raise serious concerns.
• SPARTACUS GAY TRAVEL INDEX 2026 | Belgium among the world’s safest destinations.
• Senegal doubles prison sentences for gay sex amid rising homophobia.
• Malaysia, which outlaws gay sex, blocks access to Grindr and Blued.
• BELGIUM | Safer in theory, harsher in reality: violence and polarisation mark 2025 for LGBTQIA+ people.
• Europe reaches new low as LGBTQIA+ people face renewed criminalisation.
• SPARTACUS GAY TRAVEL INDEX 2024 | Malta, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal the most gay friendly destinations; Belgium now 21st.
• SPARTACUS GAY TRAVEL INDEX 2025 | USA and Eastern Europe under observation.
• 2025 | 65 countries where gay sex is illegal.
• ILGA-EUROPE | New era of coordinated attacks on foundations of Fundamental Rights, as EU bins Equal Treatment Directive.
• West of Ireland to host EuroPride 2028.
• GRINDR UNWRAPPED 2025 | Belgium and the Netherlands still love twinks, Taipei’s popularity rises.
• GRINDR UNWRAPPED 2024 | Belgium and the Netherlands still love twinks.
• The best cities to visit as a gay solo traveller.
• EUROPEAN UNION | Pride events do raise awareness for LGBTQIA+.
• Gay Hong Kong.
• Mr Gay Europe 2026 contest to cruise with VACAYA at summer’s end.
• How gay friendly are trending travel destinations Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina with Republika Srpska, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine?.
• ILGA WORLD | Despite more legal protections for LGBTI people, stark opposition has been a recurring theme in debates in every UN member State.
• Spartacus Travel Awards pinpoint Brussels and Taiwan as top LGBTQIA+ destinations.
• Pride movement in Europe expecting increased hostility.
• QUEER ANDORRA | Entre Nous, the only gay bar in the village.
• Europeans more accepting of LGBTQIA+ people than their political leaders.
• Queer Iceland & Rainbow(baiting) Reykjavík.
• Heading for the sun in gay destination Torremolinos.
• Manchester’s gaybourhood around Canal Street.
• 13 US states still officially punish gay sex.
• Sang Young Park, an insight on queer life in South Korea.
• Pride in Valladolid, Yucatán and queer encounters in Mexico.
• FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | Eye-opening encounters in Miami.
• FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | Key West.
• FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | Fort Lauderdale.
• FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | National Pulse Memorial and Museum in Orlando.
• Queer in a hostile world: more likely to be arrested for looking gay than for actual homosexual acts.
• Travel guide for people with HIV.
• LGBTQ+ get-together on Majestic Princess.
• HOW TO | Travel to the Eurovision Song Contest.
• Gays failing at being gay? ‘LGBTQ Mix & Mingle’ on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas lacked enthusiasm.
• Gay Tel Aviv: pinkwashing or genuine?.
• To be or not to be out and proud LGBTQ when travelling?.
• A plea for LGBTQ travel in post-communist Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Gay Taipei with misterb&b.
• VIDEO | Looking for intimacy in a crowd of strangers in Japan and South Korea.
• Are you travelling to a hostile destination?.