Sex Workers With HIV Can Be Branded 'Violent Sex Offenders' In 1 State. DOJ Is Suing To Change That.

Prostitution is typically classified as a misdemeanor in Tennessee. But that's not the case for sex workers living with HIV.

The Justice Department sued the state of Tennessee on Thursday, alleging that the state imposes harsher criminal penalties on people who engage in sex work while living with HIV.

The state has violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by criminally prosecuting sex workers living with HIV, “regardless of any actual risk of harm,” the lawsuit says.

Prostitution is typically classified as a misdemeanor in Tennessee. But under the state’s “aggravated prostitution” law, a person living with HIV who is charged with prostitution must register as a “violent sex offender” for the rest of their life, regardless of whether the person knew they could transmit the disease or practiced mitigation measures, such as using condoms or taking antiviral medication.

Tennessee is the only state to impose a lifetime sex offender registration requirement on sex workers who are HIV-positive.

Tennessee first developed its law to criminalize sex workers living with HIV in 1991 amid widespread panic and misinformation over the AIDS epidemic. Tennessee lawmakers later reclassified aggravated prostitution as a “violent sexual offense” in 2010.