Sex worker Clayton Palmer fights to stay in Australia after giving client HIV
Shocking twist after transgender sex worker gave her client HIV while fighting to stay in Australia
- A sex worker made a client HIV positive
- Clayton Palmer was convicted in WA
- Palmer is now appealing his eviction
A transgender sex worker jailed for infecting a client with HIV is fighting to avoid being permanently deported to New Zealand.
Clayton Palmer was convicted in 2018 by Western Australia District Court of one count of grievous bodily harm in connection with having sex with a client.
The man became infected with HIV during the encounter, despite Palmer knowing she was HIV positive.
Clayton Palmer was convicted in 2018 by Western Australia District Court in connection with grievous bodily harm to a client
Palmer was sentenced to six years in prison, which was reduced to four years on appeal
Palmer was sentenced to six years in prison at the time, which was reduced to four years on appeal.
She had been an Australian resident since 2006, but her visa had to be revoked due to a criminal record.
Palmer was eventually deported from Australia to New Zealand following a decision by the minister to revoke her visa.
Lawyers for Palmer from the HIV/AIDS Legal Center appeared before the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday in an attempt to overturn the decision.
Palmer’s defense counsel Bora Kaplan argued that she was having trouble coming to terms with her diagnosis at the time of the assault, but that she was taking medications that reduced her chances of infecting a partner.
“The evidence for the (immigration) minister was pretty clear in my respectful entry, and it was de Palmer who had been consistently taking her medication since 2016,” Kaplan said.
“Important, even at that time when she had relapsed into illegal drug use, and there was no indication that there was any risk that she would stop taking that medication in the future.
“Evidence has shown that HIV cannot be passed from A to B if A has an undetectable viral load, as Palmer did.”
However, Mr. Kaplan admitted that Palmer’s initial reaction to the diagnosis was one of denial.
Palmer had lived in Australia since 2006, but her visa had to be revoked if she acquired a criminal record
“The only reason that should not be defended by the respondent is the second of those reasons I mentioned in paragraph 30,” he said.
“That is, before starting treatment, Palmer denied her diagnosis, used drugs, and was reckless in her approach to her own sexual health and that of her sexual partners.”
Palmer previously told a tribunal that she wanted to stay in Australia and maintain her contacts with communities, including people living with HIV, transgender people and sex workers.
The hearing has been adjourned.