02/28/2026
HIV is not a crime.
FULL STOP!
In Tennessee, 154 people have been placed on the s*x offender registry for HIV-related convictions, even when no transmission occurred.
75% are Black.
64% live in Shelby County.
Black women are 290 times more likely than white men to appear on the registry.
Nationally, 30+ states still criminalize people living with HIV, despite modern science (U=U) proving that people with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV s*xually.
HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day (Feb 28) was launched in 2022 to modernize outdated laws, end stigma, and align policy with science, NOT FEAR!
Criminalization does not stop HIV.
Justice, treatment, and dignity do.