Following campaign pledges from both the president and prime minister in Senegal’s latest elections, the country’s Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill doubling penalties in the far West African nation for homosexuality, described in the measure as “acts against nature.”

The revised law is just the latest attack on “degenerate” Western values by government and religious officials.

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Same-sex acts in Senegal will now earn 5-10 years in prison. Acts committed with a minor are subject to the maximum penalty, France 24 reports.

“Homosexuals will no longer breathe in this country. Homosexuals will no longer have freedom of expression in this country,” lawmaker Diaraye Ba told colleagues in the National Assembly to applause.

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The bill, passed overwhelmingly with three abstentions and no opposing votes, awaits President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s signature.

In addition to doubling prison terms and fines for homosexual acts, the measure includes criminal penalties for those found guilty of promoting or financing same-sex relationships.

Passage of the bill comes amid a veritable gay panic in Senegal, with a wave of arrests and anti-LGBTQ+ protests by religious groups in the Muslim-majority country demanding tougher penalties.

Social media has been flooded with homophobic messages outing gay people, and the media has fixated on the government arrests with headlines like “Big homo clean-up” and “Bisexuals, walking dangers.”

Adding to the hysteria, the gay sweep has been conflated with a child sex ring investigation that detained gang members accused of sexual violence against minors.

The wave of arrests began in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, in February, with the detention of two of Senegal’s highest-profile celebrities, among 12 people rounded up and charged with committing “unnatural” acts and other crimes.

“The majority of Senegalese do not accept homosexuality. Our culture rejects it, and we are firmly opposed to it,” said Amadou Moustapha Ndieck Sarré, the government’s Minister of Employment.

Over 90% of Senegalese oppose acceptance of gay people, according to Equaldex, the LGBTQ+ collaborative knowledge base. The country ranks 4 out of 100 on the site’s Equality Index. More than half of the 53 countries in Africa impose penalties for homosexuality, from caning and fines to death.

Charles Dotou, head of the Senegal LGBTQ Association, has resigned over the new legislation.

“Most of the same-sex relationships were hidden anyway. There are even people who are married in the society and who are still entertaining a same-sex relationship because of the norm and the cultural norm in that society,” Dotou told the BBC.

“People will be hiding more, it will create more fear, and people will be scared to live normally in that community. So there will be an exodus of people, particularly people who were already exposed, so that that creates a bit of chaos in society,” he added.

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