Fridae

Human Rights Watch has issued a warning about HIV care in Senegal: fear of arrest and stigma are keeping LGBTQ+ people away from testing and treatment.

The rights group published its report on 12 October. Researchers interviewed 39 people in May, among them health professionals, lawyers and members of the queer community. They describe people going into hiding and cutting back their normal activities.

Dakar is preparing to host the Youth Olympic Games from 31 October to 13 November, according to the IOC’s media guide. HRW wants the president to commit to protecting residents as well as visitors and participants from discrimination and arbitrary arrests.

UNAIDS had warned about access to HIV services months earlier. Its 18 March statement followed parliament’s vote for harsher penalties for same-sex conduct.

There is a health exemption in the adopted text, UNAIDS noted. It covers authorised health structures and organisations carrying out activities under public-health policies. The UN programme asked Senegal to clarify this protection for providers and safeguard patient confidentiality.

HRW sent its findings and questions to Senegalese authorities on 29 September. The organisation says it had received no reply when it published the report.

Is a legal exemption enough if people are afraid to walk into a clinic?