Tennessee to remove sex workers with HIV from sex offender registry

Tennessee has agreed to remove those convicted of prostitution while HIV-positive from its sex offender registry.

• In 2010, Tennessee reclassified prostitution with HIV as a “violent sexual offense” with a lifetime registration as a sex offender, even if protection is used.  

• Lawsuits were filed against that rule by the American Civil Liberties Union and Department of Justice.

• Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a settlement agreement on July 15 that said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation would comb through the state’s sex offender registry to find those added because of aggravated prostitution convictions. 

(NewsNation) — The Tennessee government has agreed to remove people who were convicted of prostitution while having HIV from its sex offender registry. 

Tennessee’s “aggravated prostitution” laws have made prostitution a misdemeanor for most sex workers, but a felony for those who are HIV-positive. In 2010, the state toughened penalties by reclassifying prostitution with HIV as a “violent sexual offense” with a lifetime registration as a sex offender, even if protection is used.  

A lawsuit filed last year by the American Civil Liberties Union and a separate suit filed earlier this year by the Department of Justice both argue that labeling a person a sex offender because of HIV limits their job and housing opportunities and prevents them from being alone with grandchildren or minor relatives. 

According to the lawsuit filed by the ACLU, the statute was most often invoked in the Memphis area and commonly against Black and transgender women. 

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a settlement agreement on July 15 that said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation would comb through the state’s sex offender registry to find those added because of aggravated prostitution convictions.