Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Mali face legal and societal challenges not experienced by non-

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

residents. LGBT people face

stigmatization Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are commonly related to culture, gender, rac ...

among the broader population. According to the 2007

Pew Global Attitudes Project The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the wor ...

, 98 percent of Malian adults believe that homosexuality is "a way of life" that society should not accept, which was the highest rate of non-acceptance in the 45 countries surveyed. The United States Department of States points to laws in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

which prohibit "attacks on morality", and says such laws are used to target LGBT persons; these laws are actively enforced.

Legal status

Private, adult, consensual and non-commercial same-sex sexual acts are legal in Mali and have never been criminalised.''State-sponsored Homophobia: A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults''
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, authored by Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, May 2012, p. 12 While legal, the prevailing cultural and religious beliefs of most Mali citizens view same-sex sexual activity and non-traditional gender roles as immoral. There are provisions against "public outrages on decency", under which LGBT and transgender individuals are disproportionately prosecuted. Article 224 of the allows for penalties of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to 200,000 FCFA (

West African CFA franc The West African CFA franc ( French: ''franc CFA'' or simply ''franc'', ISO 4217 code: XOF; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the currency used by eight independent states in West Africa which make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA; ' ...

s) for offences. It may be used against LGBT people who engage in public displays of affection, for example. The age of consent is set at 15 years; it does not differ for same-sex participants.

Discrimination protections

There are no anti-discrimination laws to protect the LGBT community from harassment and abuse on the basis of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

and

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

. Also, societal discrimination is widespread.

Adoption and family planning

Article 522 of the "Code des Personnes et de la Famille", which was passed by the National Assembly on 2 December 2011 and subsequently signed into the law by the president of Mali, forbids same-sex couples from adopting children. Mali's new constitution, adopted by referendum in June 2023, includes a clause limiting marriage to a union of one man and one woman.

Living conditions

According to Dr. Dembelé Bintou Keita, the director of ARCAD/SIDA, an HIV/AIDS organization in Mali that provides health care for

men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men (MSM) are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex. The term was created in the 1990s by epidemiology, epidemiologists to study the spread of disease among all men who have sex with men, r ...

(MSM), Malian society is not tolerant to MSM. They "have no rights and certainly no right to claim their sexual orientation. All cultural beliefs towards MSM are negative." MSM are forced into bisexuality or underground sexual practices that put them at high risk of sexually transmitted and HIV infections. "Men who are attracted to other men are forced to get married so that they will not bring shame to the family ... but they still have men as sexual partners." The

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

's 2011 human rights report found that,

Summary table

Notes

References

{{Human rights in Mali Law of Mali

Human rights in Mali Politics of Mali LGBT in Mali