Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Gambia face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents.

[5] Anti-gay rhetoric from leaders — notably by Yahya Jammeh, the president until 2017 — has contributed to a hostile environment for LGBTQ persons, who are subject to official and societal harassment and abuses.

The colonial Criminal Code (1933) of Gambia was implemented in 1934; its provisions, proscribing consensual sexual activity between males as "carnal knowledge against the order of nature" have remained in force to the present.

Since 2013, the country has restricted freedom of gender expression under section 167 of the Criminal Code, which forbids men to dress "as women"; cross-dressing is punishable by up to 5 years in jail or a fine of 50,000 Gambian dalasi.

[5][12] The Gambia has no law or regulation in place for protection of residents against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

[14] On 23 December 2008, Frank Boers, a 79-year-old man from the Netherlands, was arrested at Banjul International Airport when officials found him in possession of pornography, including nude pictures of himself and some Gambian men.

[16] According to police testimony in court in July 2012, the arrests were made because men were "wearing women's clothes", carrying handbags, and "walking like ladies".

He also commanded "all those who harbour such individuals to kick them out of their compounds, noting that a mass patrol will be conducted on the instructions of the [Inspector General of Police] ... and the director of the Gambia Immigration Department to weed bad elements in society".

Jammeh advised the army chiefs to monitor the activities of their men and deal with soldiers bent on practicing lesbianism in the military.

[26][27] A speech Barrow gave on a visit to the European Union in 2020 was reported to have caused alarmed reactions in the Gambia, by appearing to some constituents as too conciliatory towards the LGBTQ community and pro-LGBTQ rights.