LGBT rights in the Gambia
Encyclopedia
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the Gambia face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT
residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in the Gambia
.
President Yahya Jammeh
, Gambia's military ruler, said in May 2008 that stricter laws against homosexuals would soon be introduced and vowed to "cut off the head" of any homosexual caught in his country. Jammeh later retracted the beheading threat, but stood by a threat to hunt down and expel homosexuals from their houses.
based on sexual orientation
.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in the Gambia
The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
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Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
Under Article 144 of the Criminal Code, any same-sex sexual act is punishable with up to 14 years imprisonment. Originally, Gambia's law only applied to males, but was updated in 2005 to apply to lesbians as well.President Yahya Jammeh
Yahya Jammeh
Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is the President of The Gambia...
, Gambia's military ruler, said in May 2008 that stricter laws against homosexuals would soon be introduced and vowed to "cut off the head" of any homosexual caught in his country. Jammeh later retracted the beheading threat, but stood by a threat to hunt down and expel homosexuals from their houses.
Discrimination protections
There is no protection against discriminationDiscrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
based on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
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Living conditions
The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that "there is strong societal discrimination against LGBT individuals, but officially there are no laws that deny such individuals access to citizenship, employment, housing, education, or healthcare." The report also found that there were no known LGBT organizations in the country, and that "many citizens shunned lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals."See also
- LGBT rights in AfricaLGBT rights in AfricaLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights in Africa are limited in comparison to other areas of the world, with the BBC estimating that homosexuality is outlawed in 38 African countries...
- Human rights in AfricaHuman rights in AfricaHuman rights as a legal concept is a relatively recent notion in Africa. The United Nations System, international law and the African Union have certainly all contributed to the establishment of a human rights system in Africa, which has positively and indispensably influenced the advancement of...