Health Advocates, Porn Actors Meet

State officials on Monday held a fourth public meeting to discuss workplace protections and regulatory scrutiny of the adult-film industry.

Late last year, the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) petitioned California's Occupational Health and Safety Administration (Cal/OSHA) to amend its regulations in order to explicitly require condom use during vaginal and anal sex on adult-film sets. A porn actor's recent HIV diagnosis, the California industry's second in about a year, has intensified advocates' campaign for mandatory condom use during adult-film productions.

A current workplace law, created in the 1990s for the health care field, requires employers to take measures, including "barrier protection," to protect employees from blood-borne pathogens.

At Monday's gathering in Oakland, adult-film representatives asserted that their model of education, optional condom use, and regular STD testing is working.

"Our program works, over and over and over again," said Diane Duke, executive director of the industry group the Free Speech Coalition.

An attorney representing the industry, Frank Cambria, warned that clear, widely enforced condom regulations would push the production of porn underground or to other nations, where workers would have no protections. "This will have a profound impact on the industry," he said. "I think the path we're on is a good one .. But I don't think we're nearly there yet."

Cal/OSHA's chief counsel, Amy Martin, replied that condom use is already required by law. The issue at hand is whether to tailor an industry-specific ordinance to promote employers' understanding and compliance.

The industry "doesn't seem to think the rules apply to it," said Brian Chase, AHF's assistant general counsel. "They want to pretend that 'barrier' means something other than barrier," said Chase, who called for clear, simple rules and aggressive enforcement.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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