Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso criminalized same-sex relations on September 1, 2025 (within the new Persons and Family Code), with severe penalties also for the promotion of same-sex acts. Until then they had always been legal: unlike many African countries, it never inherited a colonial penal code that outlawed them, with an equal age of consent since 1996. No union recognition, no anti-discrimination, no trans rights. Post-2022 military junta · religious-traditional society · reported victims of verbal and physical abuse.
Legal framework · Burkina Faso
LGBT
identity
Criminalized (Sep 2025)
Since September 1, 2025, same-sex sexual acts and their promotion are criminalized with severe legal penalties · penalty: 2 to 5 years imprisonment plus fine; deportation for foreigners
Partnership
recognition
No recognition
1991 Constitution defines marriage as union between man and woman · no same-sex unions
Legal
protection
No anti-discrimination
Law does not discriminate by sexual orientation in employment, housing, education or healthcare · but societal discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity remains a problem