ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2012

Sierra Leone
Male/Male Illegal Female/Female Legal
Offences against the Person Act 1861 167
Section 61 of the above named act, criminalises buggery and bestiality, with a penalty of life imprisonment.
Somalia
Male/Male Illegal Female/Female Illegal
Penal Code, Decree No. 5/1962 (Effective April 3, 1964) 168
Article 409 Homosexuality
“Whoever
(a) has carnal intercourse
(b) with a person of the same sex
shall be punished, where the act does not constitute a more serious crime, with imprisonment from three
months to three years.
Where
a) the act committed
b) is an act of lust different from carnal intercourse, the punishment imposed shall be reduced by one-third.”
Article 410 Security Measures
“A security measure may be added to a sentence for crimes referred to in Articles 407, 408, and 409.”
Somalia has not had a functioning central government since the fall of the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in
1991, and the enforcement of the national Penal Code can be questioned. In the southern parts Islamic
courts rule, having imposed Islamic Sharia law punishing homosexual acts with death penalty or flogging.
However, Somaliland in the north has declared itself independent, and it still applies the Penal Code. 169
South Sudan
Male/Male Illegal Female/Female Illegal
Penal Code Act 2008 170
248. Unnatural Offences.
”(1)Whoever, has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person and whoever allows any
person to have such intercourse with him or her commits an offence, and upon conviction, shall be
sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years and may also be liable to a fine.”
166 See Seychelles section on Sexual Offences Laws, Interpol, available at:
https://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/
167 Thompson, Bankole, 1999, The criminal law of Sierra Leone. Lanham: University Press of America.
168 Ganzglass, Martin R, 1971, The Penal Code of the Somali Democratic Republic. New Brunswick/New Jersey:
Rutgers University Press, p. 456-457.
169 See Somaliland Penal Code, available at: http://www.somalilandlaw.com/Criminal_Law/body_criminal_law.html.
170 Available at: http://www.goss-online.org/magnoliaPublic/en/Laws--Legislation--
Policies/mainColumnParagraphs/0/content_files/file12/15.pdf.
State-Sponsored Homophobia – May 2011
ILGA – The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association - www.ilga.org
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