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Since the end of the 2000s, the situation of gay men has continued to deteriorate in Senegal, where arrests and imprisonments have increased. However, organisations of sexual minorities exist that work mainly in the area of the fight against AIDS. This article traces the careers of two of the country’s leading gay activists. Both were victims of violence that first of all strengthened their activist determination. For a period, they demanded the decriminalisation of homosexuality, but were met with widespread hostility, including from an Islamic organization that has made the fight against this sexual orientation one of its main battles. Aside from their religious adversaries, the activists’ situation is weakened by the lack of public support from their local partners in the fight against AIDS, the purpose of which is limited to carrying out the least visible actions targeted at gay men.