A transgender sex worker living in Australia was arrested for infecting a client with HIV. She is now fighting to re-enter the country after being deported back to her home country of New Zealand, NY Post reported. 

CJ Palmer, who has been living in Australia since 2006 on a visa, reportedly worked as a sex worker in the country. According to Ms. Palmer’s legal counsel, she was diagnosed with HIV and had been taking medication since 2016. However, she failed to inform her client about her diagnosis who later found out he contracted the virus after their encounter. 

In 2018, Palmer was convicted in the Western Australia District Court on one count of grievous bodily harm, reports state. She was sentenced to six years in prison which was lowered to four years on appeal, the NY Post reported. After completing her sentence Palmer was deported to New Zealand following a decision from the Minister to discontinue her visa.

Lawyers of Palmer’s from the HIV/Aids Legal Centre are now trying to overturn the decision.

“The evidence before the (immigration) minister was quite clear in my respectful submission, and it was the Ms. Palmer had consistently taken her medication since 2016,”

Mr. Kaplan said in a statement.

“The evidence established that HIV cannot be transmitted from A to B, if A has an undetectable viral load as Palmer did,”

he continued. 

According to the outlet, Palmer previously told the court that she wanted to remain in Australia to keep her

“connections to communities including people with HIV, transgender people, and sex workers.”

The hearing has been postponed. 

#Clique, what are your thoughts?