Health and Safety in Porn

OUTBREAK! 16 ADULT FILM STARS TEST POSITIVE FOR HAVING HIV! screamed the headline on MediaTakeOut.com — and its lead paragraph wasn't much better, claiming that, According to Los Angeles officials, 16 adult film performers have "recently" tested HIV positive

But unless you're speaking in geological terms, most people don't define "recently" as five years ago, and four of the cases included in that 16 are Darren James and the women he infected, Lara Roxx, Merisa Arroyo and Jessica Dee.

But scare headlines are what sell newspapers and move websites up in the Alexa ratings  when what's called for is objective, factual reporting.

So here are a few of the obvious factual errors and misleading statements contained in the recent news stories:

In all, 16 men and 5 women who worked as adult film industry performers contracted HIV between 2004 and 2008: As the L.A. Times notes, that number, which it says came from the County Department of Health includes both the cluster around Darren James, one transsexual performer who contracted the infection at roughly that same time ... and 10 ... cases involv[ing] men who had sex with other men.

But that "detail" simply raises more questions. It's well known that some men have sex with other men, including both gay and straight male porn stars, but the difference between them is that gay porn stars generally don't get tested for HIV on a regular basis, while the males in hetero movies do. And sadly, that lack of testing combined with the subgenre of "bareback" productions is a volatile combination.

So: Subtracting the four Darren James-related cases in 2004, the one transsexual case from that time, the 10 cases of men who had sex with other men, which may be related to the gay bareback industry — that too awaits confirmation — and the one case discovered last week, that leaves a total of seven cases possibly unaccounted for over that five-year period.

AVN's investigation continues, but it couldn't hurt for the mainstream press, and the adult industry at large, to heed Mitchell's admonition that, Rumor is rampant when the words 'HIV' and 'porn' are in the same sentence; the media is like a moth to a flame. We are finding that many clients, patients and companies are tempted to discuss this delicate matter with the world for whatever personal or professional gain. Fact is, that we are still awaiting final confirmation on the Patient Zero.

Call for Mandatory Condoms in Porn Production

Based on article from aidshealth.org

After the Los Angeles Times reported that as many as 16 actors and actresses in the adult entertainment industry recently tested positive for HIV, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a press conference, protest and rally Monday, June 15th at 9:00pm at porn impresario Larry Flynt's Hustler/Hollywood Store on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood (8920 Sunset Blvd.) to call for the introduction of landmark California legislation that would require the use of condoms by actors performing in porn videos produced by California's multi-billion dollar adult entertainment industry—a mainstay of the San Fernando Valley economy.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the US' largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider, which operates the largest community-based alternative HIV testing program in California conducting more than 14,000 free HIV tests annually, believes the State of California should mandate the use condoms by actors performing in films produced by the California industry. AHF further believes a condoms in porn bill should be drafted as a worker safety provision of California's Labor Code akin to how the Labor Code currently requires the use of hard hats and other garments and barriers as safely precautions on certain California work sites and locations.

Update: Reported cases are not currently active performers

17th June 2009. See article from pe.com

LA County public health officials backtracked on the number of previously unpublicized HIV cases in adult film performers Tuesday, saying they don't know if those who tested positive were actively working in the industry at the time. Officials also corrected the number of new cases adjusting the figure upward from 16 to 18.

On Tuesday, the department told the Times it does not know if any of the people who tested positive were actively performing in the adult film industry. County public health officials said they mislabeled all reports from the clinic as adult performers, when they had no information about their occupations.

The Adult Industry Medical Foundation, the San Fernando Valley clinic that serves the porn industry, said none of the people were actively performing when they were tested. Clinic co-founder Sharon Mitchell said each case involved either a non-performer or an aspiring actor or actress who tested positive, then dropped out of the business.

The female actress who tested positive for HIV at their clinic earlier this month remains the only case detected in a working performer since 2004, Mitchell said.

An AIDS advocacy group has filed complaints with state officials against 16 production companies that show unprotected sex in porn movies.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation filed the action with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CalOSHA), alleging the practice amounts to unsafe behavior in a California workplace.

We will not stop until there is a policy of requiring condoms to be used in porn, foundation president Michael Weinstein said.

By law, U.S. adult film actors must prove they have tested negative for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases within 30 days of going to work on a film.

CalOSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said the regulatory agency requires workers in any industry where there is a possibility of transmission of fluids, including health care and adult films, to reduce the risk of disease transmission.

The employers of porn actors are required to provide a safe and healthy work environment, Fryer said.

Nearly 60 adult DVDs accompany the complaints against Hustler Video, Maverick Entertainment, Vivid and other porn production companies in Los Angeles. Many people in the multibillion-dollar industry oppose the use of condoms in the films.

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt told The Associated Press, people who enjoy viewing adult films do not want to see people using condoms.

California State regulators have agreed to consider a request from an AIDS advocacy group calling for mandatory use of condoms in porn films.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation submitted the request Thursday at a meeting of the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.

The advocacy group wants current rules requiring healthcare workers to wear gear that prevents the spread of disease to extend to adult film sets.

The Cal/OSHA board has 60 days to evaluate the petition and issue a response.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has dismissed a petition seeking a court order to compel county public health officials to require condom use on porn sets or take other reasonable steps to stem the spread of disease.

The petition, filed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, contended that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has passively observed an ever-growing epidemic within the porn industry.

Words alone cannot fight disease, the petition said. For over a decade, county health officials have talked, watched, written and analyzed. What county health officials have not done is act.

Judge David P. Yaffe rejected the petition, noting that the county has broad discretion in how it oversees public health.

The AIDS advocacy group sued the county in July. The action came weeks after an adult-film actress tested positive for HIV and county health officials released data that showed 18 HIV cases and more than 3,700 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis had been reported since 2004 by a San Fernando Valley-based clinic that mainly serves the porn industry. Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation officials said at the time that the majority of the cases did not involve working adult film performers.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation officials plan to appeal the decision and said they would press for change. We just hope the county will do the right thing without being compelled to do it by a court, foundation President Michael Weinstein said. This is going to be a years-long battle and it's going to have its ups and downs, but we know in the end that public health is going to win.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation plans to file a complaint with three Florida citizens to the state Department of Health over the lack of use of condoms in adult film productions.

Michael Weinstein, president of the AHF, said the organization has decided to ramp up its efforts beyond California, where the bulk of porn is shot: In light of the tremendous growth of adult film production in Florida, particularly in Miami and in response to repeated threats from California producers who say they will leave California and take their productions — and jobs — to other states including Florida, AHF decided to expand our adult film worker safety campaign to include Florida.

This is why we are filing 'sanitary nuisance' complaints with Florida health officials — to press for the enforcement health statutes which we believe should require the use of condoms in all adult films produced in Florida.

Florida does not have designated occupational safety and health divisions like California, Weinstein noted.

Weinstein said that AHF will back its Miami complaints with evidence from 10 adult DVDs and streamed online videos filmed or produced in the Miami area in which many performers do not wear condoms. Two of the films cited include South Beach Cruisin' No. 2, a double-DVD film by Josh Stone Productions, and Barely Legal: Miami Girls, produced by Hustler Video.

Too many adult production companies, too many porn actors. That's what Los Angeles County's public health chief told three AIDS Healthcare Foundation members who showed up at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting demanding to know why the county won't require performers in porn films to wear condoms.

The three foundation members hijacked the meeting. The issue of condoms and porn weren't even on Tuesday's Supervisors Board meeting agenda.

But county officials reacted to the group and told them that they should be realistic to the situation. Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county's public health chief, told the foundation members that regulating the porn biz is very, very difficult to implement.

There are roughly 200 production companies with about 1,200 actors, he said. All you need is a room and a camera and a bed, basically, to do this kind of shoot, and we have no ability to police this.

Fielding said that it would be difficult for public health officials to prove if the porn videos were shot in L.A. County or elsewhere, because producers often do not apply for filming licenses.

We worked closely with county counsel trying to see if there's some other way that we could effectively do this under existing authority, and what we've come up with is, basically, we're unlikely to to have an effective approach to prevent them from acquiring preventable STDs, Fielding said. It's very disturbing to come to that conclusion, but we also have to be realistic.

Fielding said the California Legislature would need to green light legislation that would require condom use for porn shoots.

The directors of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CalOSHA) Standards Board have voted unanimously to form an advisory committee to study the possibility of requiring condoms to be used in adult movie production.

The board's vote capped a civil but contentious public meeting, where present and former adult performers spoke of their experiences on adult sets, and advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (whose petition to the board prompted the meeting) as well as former performer Shelly Lubben's Pink Cross Foundation added their own spin on what several referred to as a health care crisis affecting the adult industry.

A federal agency is investigating whether an HIV testing clinic funded by the adult film industry routinely releases health information about actors to porn producers, violating the actors' privacy, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation announced.

The US Department of Health and Human Services investigation is in response to a written complaint from the foundation alleging violations of federal patient confidentiality laws.

In its complaint filed earlier this year, the foundation alleged that the clinic's release of patient data on HIV and STD infections via an online database violates the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA.

During a March protest outside the clinic, Whitney Engeran-Cordova, director of the foundation's public health division, said there is a contradiction between AIM vigorously blocking the release of patient data to state workplace safety officials, yet making the same data available to adult film producers.

The foundation has pushed for regulations that would require porn actors to wear condoms to slow the spread of sexually transmittable diseases. It also wants access to the health data of porn actors to track the spread of STDs in the industry.

Some adult filmmakers have objected, saying condoms can detract from their movies. Instead, they contracted with AIM to ensure actors are disease free before they have sex.

According to a press release issued by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the unnamed Chief Legal Counsel for the Florida Department of Health—no such entity is listed on the Health Department's website, and each county appears to have its own Chief Legal Counsel—has begun an investigation based on complaints filed by three residents at AHF's urging, alleging the lack of use of condoms in films produced by Florida's fast growing adult film industry.

The complaints are based on a skewed reading of Florida's Sanitary Nuisance statutes which, though vaguely worded, appear to refer to such tangible nuisances as rotting garbage, liquid chemical waste or smoke, and machinery that may pose a risk when operated. Regarding the nuisance, the Department of Health is authorized to undertake required correctional procedures, including the removal of same if necessary, creating, keeping, or maintaining such nuisances. Moreover, maintaining a sanitary nuisance is a second-degree misdemeanor under Florida law, punishable by a $500 fine but not imprisonment. Nothing in the statute raises the offense level for multiple violations.

In its press release on the Florida situation, even AHF hedges its claims about the law, noting that adult producers shooting non-condom content only arguably fall under the definition of a 'sanitary nuisance', and although the release refers at one point to a local sanitary nuisance ordinance for Miami-Dade County, where much of Florida's adult production takes place, it's unclear (at least from the press release) whether that county's Director of Public Health has agreed to investigate AHF's claims.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a nutter group attempting to force adult performers to use condoms and dental dams in every sex scene, has just been handed a setback by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  HHS has ruled that its Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has no jurisdiction over AHF's complaint that AIM Healthcare Foundation had violated performers' rights in asking them to sign a voluntary waiver of medical privacy over their AIM test results.

The US adult industry has achieved absolutely minimal cases of AIDS/HIV by requiring performers to be tested rather than insisting on condoms. The nutters of AHF are trying to throw a spanner in the works by suggesting that test results can't be made available to porn producers on privacy grounds.

The ruling is a victory—albeit possibly a fleeting one— for AIM, which has been under attack for more than a year by AHF, which has made complaints about AIM's testing and medical confidentiality protocols to several state and federal government agencies. However, it is likely that AHF will attempt to refile its complaint with another agency within HHS.

Anti-porn nutters have filed a legal safety complaint against the porn magazine mogul Larry Flynt, citing an unsafe work environment.

The AIDS Health Foundation sent an arsenal of DVDS of his films to the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health Office in Los Angeles. In only one of the 100 DVD's, is there any indication of an actor using protection, according to AHF spokesman Ged Kenslea.

The AHF's premise is that, by Flynt not requiring the use of condoms in his films, it sets up a growing body of evidence that the lack of use promotes the spread of STD's, specifically, AIDS. They are petitioning the state regulatory agency to order the use of condoms on all porn film sets.

Flynt begs to differ. According to Micahel Klein, president of Larry Flynt Productions, the request by the AHF is overbearing and unreasonable. He says that the end-user of the films will not watch people engage in sex who wear condoms. We won't budge when it comes to condomless productions, he said in a statement. That's what the consumer wants, and we deliver it.

The Federal statute regarding safe sex practices requires that actors in the porn industry be tested for HIV 30 days prior to the beginning of filming.

OSHA or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in California will investigate a complaint according to the merits of the case. Conversely, the alleged offending party can ask that an investigation be launched to prove that a complaint is without merit.

In the wake of the latest incident of HIV infection found in a performer in California's $13 billion adult film industry, adult film icon Jenna Jameson has called on the industry and performers working in it to practice safer sex.

In an interview given to the website RadarOnline.com, Jameson, the highest earning single performer in the industry called the industry a ticking time bomb noting that the fact is that safe sex is not continually practiced in the adult film world. She added, I think a lot of the women feel pressure to not use condoms because they're in fear of not getting hired by that company again. It's very sad and disgusting.

Since the news regarding a performer testing positive for HIV broke on Tuesday, a voluntary industry quarantine has been in effect and at least five adult film companies have voluntarily stopped production, including some of the larger companies, Wicked, Vivid Entertainment and Hustler Video.

Back to the Grind

Based on article from examiner.com

Even though it was disclosed last week by The Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM), that an adult performer had tested positive for HIV, the Los Angeles City Council appears unlikely to suspend any new porn production permits.

Los Angeles nutters, AIDS Healthcare, have demanded the Council to instruct FilmLA to halt issuing new permits to the tax dollar generating San Fernando Valley based sex production industry until the latest case is investigated by AIM, reports the LA Times.

Update: Is 'condom-free' worth a life? worth the loss of business? or worth the cost of a lawyer?

18th October 2010. Based on article from mb.com.ph

The Los Angeles City Council has refused to impose a moratorium on filming permits for the city-based porn industry, fearing that this could lead to costly lawsuits against the city.

As much as many of us are appalled by that activity, they are completely willing and capable of defending themselves with the highest paid lawyers to fight for their civil rights and, to date, they have been able to fend off these kinds of challenges, Councilman Richard Alarcon said at a session.

I don't think there's a majority or even close to a majority (on the council) that are even interested in this subject, Alarcon added.

Earlier in the day, anti-porn AIDS activists appeared before the City Council, calling the city to stop issuing permits to San Fernando Valley-based adult industry after an adult film performer was recently tested positive for HIV. Adult film star Jenna Jameson said: I always told them that it was better to practice safe sex. Is one movie worth your life? She called the industry a ticking time bomb, and noted her production company gave female performers the option of using condoms.

After completing testing for two generations of partners of the HIV-positive patient, AIM Healthcare said that all performers tested negative for HIV on two occasions using multiple testing methods.

AIM, which refers to the HIV-positive patient as Patient Zeta, said it had established that Patient Zeta acquired the virus through private, personal activity and there was no transmission of the HIV virus from Patient Zeta to any performers.

This event affirms the efficacy of AIM Healthcare Foundation's testing protocols, as voluntarily implemented by the adult entertainment industry, AIM said in a press release: It is regrettable but inevitable that people continue to acquire the HIV virus in their personal life. The protocols and other industry practices have resulted in only one incident of HIV transmission on set in more than a decade. That is a remarkable record. AIM Healthcare Foundation is proud of its contribution to the health and well-being of the adult industry and wider community.

In another development, Vivid Entertainment announced today that the company is set to resume production on Monday, Nov. 8, after being shut down for almost a month because of health safety concerns.

Digital Playground already resumed production last week. Hustler is also back in production.

In a situation that seems drawn directly from a Franz Kafka novel, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has tried to stop the Adult Industry Medical (AIM) Healthcare Foundation from serving the adult performer community all because AIM put the wrong name for the clinic on its operating permit application.

Although the official name on AIM's lease is The Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, AIM submitted its application as AIM Medical Testing Center, and in a letter dated November 30, Travis Green of the state's Licensing & Certification Program kicked the application back to AIM, saying I found that the package is incomplete and contains information that is unclear and/or inconsistent.

And what information was unclear or inconsistent? Under the heading, Office Lease, the letter reads, Please initial and date next to each line-through of 'AIM Medical Testing Center' and replaced [sic] with 'The Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation.'

That's it! All the state wants is for AIM's application to reflect the name of the clinic that's on the property lease rather than the name by which everyone in the adult industry knows the clinic. No other corrections are necessary.

But even though the letter from the state clearly states, Please note that you will be allowed sixty (60) days from the date of this correction letter to submit the requested information, nonetheless, the L.A. County Health Department served AIM with a cease-and-desist letter requiring AIM to stop collection blood samples from its clients—an action that apparently was taken at the instigation of AIDS Healthcare Foundation president Michael Weinstein.

But despite the county's cease-and-desist order, AIM is still operating. However, performers who need their blood drawn and urine sample taken will have to do so at one of AIM's draw stations which are located all over the city of Los Angeles.

People can pay for the tests online, and pick up their tests at AIM, just like they always do, said AIM general manager Jennifer Miller. It's exactly like coming in here and the price is exactly the same, and it's the same turn-around time.

A San Fernando Valley clinic that caters to porn stars has re-opened after being forced to close for operating under the wrong type of license.

Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation spokeswoman Jennifer Miller says the clinic is now a private corporation, instead of a non-profit operating under a physician's license.

The clinic is a preferred medical provider of many actors in the porn industry, providing a discreet environment for frequent HIV tests.

On Friday, the Los Angles City Council voted unanimously on a motion to instruct the City Attorney to explore the feasibility of conditioning the issuance of film permits granted under City authority to the use of condoms in adult film productions.

The motion, introduced by Councilmember Bill Rosendahl at a Council meeting in mid-December, now directs the city Attorney to, ...report back within 45 days to explain the mechanisms necessary to enable the City's film permit process to require workplace safety in the production of all adult films.

We commend Councilmember Rosendahl and the entire City Council for their unanimous vote in favor of this legal study to explore making adult film permits conditional on the use of condoms in adult films, said Michael Weinstein, President of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Under existing California law, condoms are already required in the production of adult films, yet the industry remains convinced it is above the law. This City Council action is a step toward better enforcement and oversight to safeguard the health and safety of adult film workers. Tying condom use to adult-film production permits is absolutely the responsible thing to do, protecting adult film industry performers who---under the current system of testing---are routinely asked to risk their lives and health in order to continue working.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) has fined Hustler Video $14,175 for failing to use condoms in its productions.

According to the citation issued to Hustler Video and obtained by AVN, Cal-OSHA cites three violations, in which the video production company failed to provide condoms or other protective equipment for performers. Additionally the company was cited for failure to provide an injury and illness prevention program, and for failing to provide protection against other potentially infectious materials. Hustler was fined $4,725 for each violation.

Also cited was Mark Zane's Forsaken Pictures, which was fined $12,150 for three violations. According to the complaint, it appears that Forsaken's fines were in connection to producing an adult movie for Hustler Video.

The inspection of the Hustler Video was prompted by a complaint from anti porn nutters of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). And of course nutters are never satisified. AHF president Michael Weinstein said:

Something is better than nothing, but I don't know how long it takes Larry Flynt to make $14,000, Weinstein commented. I suspect it's not very long, so we would want to see something sterner. We would like to see an order prohibiting use that shuts down Hustler productions, and of course, we want to see the city revoke the permits and we want to see the LA County Department of Health also step in and declare it a public health nuisance, but every little bit helps. It's now established that it's against the law in California to produce [adult movies] without condoms and we're looking forward to actions by the Cal/OSHA Standards Board this year on regulations specific to the industry. We will continue to lobby the city and the county to be more aggressive as well.

Hustler has a right to appeal.

It looks like a porn industry attorney is preparing to sue individuals using the PornWikileaks.com website for illegal activity after that site exposed the health records of the hundreds of the Valley's adult performers, according to a statement from the Free Speech Coaltion.

Lawyer Corey Silverstein is actively looking for porn stars who have been damaged by the much-publicized leak.

FSC, the industry's lobbying arm, quotes Silverstein:

While I cannot discuss the specific nature of my clients' allegations and any action that is being prepared, it is important to note that this is not a simple free speech issue. The individuals running this website are allegedly intentionally and knowingly jeopardizing the safety and privacy of adult performers all over the world while purposely defaming them in the process. The website repeatedly refers to adult performers as pornographic whores and Hookers and even talks about specific adult performers degrading the whole family. My clients cannot comprehend why the individuals running this website would want to intentionally cause so much potential harm.

FSC executive director Diane Duke said:

Free Speech Coalition stands in opposition to the violations of performer privacy byPornWikileaks. This is not an issue of free speech; it is about violating the privacy of performers. It's about potential extortion and exposing performers to potential harassment, stalking and other criminal activities.

AIM Medical Associates' executive director Sharon Mitchell has confirmed to AVN after much industry speculation that the clinic has closed its doors.

Mitchell also acknowledged that the AIM database has been taken offline making it impossible for producers to check the status of performers' tests.

We are officially closed over financial hardship, Mitchell said. We had to close.

In the meantime, most performers working in the Greater Los Angeles area are now using Talent Testing Service, which also has a wholly owned subsidiary in Miami and works with a network of draw stations located around the country.

In a heated and contentious advisory panel meeting, nearly 70 porn performers came out in force to voice their concerns and give input on a Cal/OSHA draft proposal containing modifications to California's health code to extend adult industry workplace safety regulations.

The purpose of the meeting was to gather comments from industry stakeholders to crystalize specific areas of proposed regulations in the draft. Several items were on the agenda including discussing definitions, control measures, alternative measures, medical services and record keeping.

The draft described adult entertainment as the production of any film, video, multimedia or other recorded or live presentation in which performers actually engage in any activity that may result in exposure of the eyes, skin, mouth, anus, vagina or other mucous membranes to the blood or other potentially infectious materials -- sexually transmitted infections (OPIM-STI). Many took issue with this description saying this was too broad of a definition.

The meeting then moved on to barrier protection, described as a condom or other physical block that prevents the passage of blood and OPIM-STI to another person. A female performer said that if condoms are enforced, that every legitimate studio will be affected and productions will either go underground or leave the state.

Dan O'Connell, president of Girlfriends Films, said enforcing condoms especially for girl/girl scenes would be problematic: If we provide barrier protection, it'll be the end of the industry here in California, he said. Fans of girl/girl who are into the oral part will not put up with barrier protection.

Another topic that was hotly debated was permitting alternate measures to control risks of oral sex.

At the end of the meeting, Deborah Gold, Cal/OSHA’s senior safety engineer reminded everyone that current standards still apply to adult, which means the use of condoms as a form of barrier protection.

Los Angeles County public health officials have the discretion to mandate regulations to control sexually transmitted diseases on porn sets, an appeals court has ruled.

The county had been sued by nutters of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which has been a thorn for the adult entertainment industry for years as it attempts to oppose the indiustry by making condoms mandatory for all porn productions.

The AHF sued the county for its inaction over regulating porn shoots. It lost in a lower court and reached out to the California Appeal Court, which ruled against it, 3-0.

Appellate judges, in the unpublished opinion, said the county's health department has discretion to determine what measures are necessary to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases and could not be forced by the courts to implement the specific means advocated by the AHF.

The AHF blames the lack of protective equipment for performers, including condoms, for a so-called epidemic of STDs, and says the county has taken no effective steps to address it.

The AHF told XBIZ that they won't challenge the appellate ruling but would fight on.

Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, told XBIZ that AHF has a history of filing frivolous lawsuits: L.A. County had already identified sexually transmitted infections in the adult industry as a 'non-issue' when it comes to public health, she said. Moreover, a recent report concerning STIs in the adult entertainment industry confirmed that adult performers have a lower rate of STIs than populations of individuals who test at STI clinics and other sexually active groups.

Appeal

See article from xbiz.com

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation will appeal last week's ruling by the California Court of Appeal that said Los Angeles County health officials can't be forced to regulate the local porn biz. The state's highest court now will decide whether to take the case over the AHF's bid to make condoms mandatory for all porn productions in the county.

Diane Duke, the Free Speech Coalition's executive director, blasted the AHF, saying:

It is shameful how AHF's grandstanding consistently takes priority over the health and well being of their clients and now the people of L.A. county. AHF has a history of frivolous lawsuits that not only squander funds that could and should be used for the prevention and treatment of HIV but also now into taxpayer dollars.

Los Angeles County public health officials do not need to require porn industry performers to wear condoms to protect against the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, an appeals court has affirmed.

The Second District Court of Appeals upheld an earlier ruling that dismissed a petition from AIDS activists to force the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to mandate condoms during the filming of hardcore pornography.

Anti-porn campaigners, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, had gone to court to compel county officials to act, arguing that they had passively observed an ever-growing epidemic within the porn industry. The foundation argued that the health department had documented thousands of sexually transmitted diseases among adult film stars and attributed the epidemic to a lack of protection equipment for performers, including condoms.

The county moved to have the lawsuit thrown out, saying the foundation was asking for too much, to take any and all other reasonable steps necessary to stem the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in the production of pornography.

A Superior Court judge decided to dismiss the case in 2009, ruling that county officials had broad discretion over how they manage public health matters. The appeals court agreed, saying it could not compel the county health department to implement AIDS Healthcare Foundation's agenda to combat sexually transmitted diseases.

Update: Onwards and Upwards

29th July 2011. See article from xbiz.com

Anti-porn campaigners of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is taking its mandatory condom campaign to the California Supreme Court, asking for a review of a recent decision by a state appeals court panel that ruled Los Angeles County health officials can't be forced to regulate the adult industry.

The AHF filed the petition arguing that there are several reasons the court should review the case. One of those reasons is that the issue affects the health of all California residents.

There was a time when porn was a clubby little industry. The studios were all in Southern California. The filmmakers knew their performers, and the performers, to a large degree, knew each other. Through databases and word-of-mouth, everyone was fairly aware of who they were working with. But in the past few years, this familiarity has vanished, and taken the industry's sense of security with it.

This week the porn world suffered its latest HIV scare and when this newest patient is identified, there's a good chance that few will know him or her very well, either. It's a sign of the changing nature of the industry. As porn continues to expand in nearly every way, from the number of performers to the variety of studios to the increasingly far-flung locations of the shoots, the people involved have less and less idea of who they're working with.

Of course, the explosion in new male talent began years ago, but at least there was a relatively well-trusted database that performers could rely on to help keep them safe. But that database was maintained by the Adult Industry Medical clinic (AIM) in Los Angeles. AIM, which was the medical testing center for virtually the entire industry, closed in May under the financial strain of lawsuits after the Derrick Burts scare. When AIM was open, if a performer tested positive, a quarantine list could be swiftly generated showing who that performer worked with, who those people he worked with had worked with in turn, and so on.

This shuttering of the AIM database caught the industry with its proverbial pants down, and this is the source of much of the current confusion and fear, according to the adult-industry trade group Free Speech Coalition. We are putting a system into place to replace AIM, but it is not fully functional yet, says Diane Duke, the Free Speech Coalition's executive director. On Aug. 28 the group called for an industry shut down until further notice.

...Read the full article

Update: Re-tested HIV negative

4th September 2011. Based on article from sacbee.com

An adult film performer who tested positive for HIV and caused the porn industry to shut down production as a precaution has been retested and the actor does not have the virus, a porn industry trade group has said.

Production can now resume, said Free Speech Coalition executive director Diane Duke.

The industry will be abundantly cautious as we try to nail down the reasons for what now appears to have been a false positive result on a previous test, Duke said.

Los Angeles voters may be asked if condoms should be required in the production porn movies.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein says his group has collected more than enough signatures to qualify a citywide ballot initiative for the June 2012 election. The ballot measure would require porn producers to shoot safe-sex porn as a condition of getting a filming permit in Los Angeles.

AHF is a nutter campaign group which has undertaken a succession of unsuccessful legal efforts to require condoms in porn, through state legislation, lawsuits and complaints to regulators.

The City of Los Angeles has filed a court case against AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) over that anti-porn campiagn's much-vaunted mandatory condom ballot initiative, for which AHF solicited over 64,000 signatures.

The purpose of the lawsuit is to have a Superior Court judge determine the validity of AHF's proposed ballot initiative, and LA City Attorney Carmen A. Trutanich has put forth some compelling reasons why AHF's plan to require FilmLA, the agency that approves permits for production companies to shoot their movies within the city, to force adult producers to use condoms and other barrier protections during permitted shoots, should never be put before city voters.

Essentially, Trutanich's arguments mirror those used by the city to strike down AHF's lawsuit filed sometime last spring. Trutanich's office opined that those sorts of functions had, by agreement, been delegated to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CalOSHA), and in June, the state's Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected AHF's attempt to force LADPH to police porn sets for condom use.

LA is also challenging the need for a referendum in order to avoid the needless and wasteful expenditure of public resources made in connection with a measure which the voters have no power to adopt, the complaint states.

Update: California Health and Safety don't support LA's legal challenge

31st December 2011.  See article from latimes.com

Los Angeles City Attorney, Carmen Trutanich, filed court papers earlier this month saying that Los Angeles voters would have no legal authority to adopt the proposed measure even if it were placed on the ballot.

Trutanich argued that only the state, not the city, could legally impose rules requiring the use of condoms on porn sets and charging fees to pay for inspections.

However the head of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which regulates workplace safety disagrees.

In a Dec. 23 email to one of Trutanich's deputy city attorneys, Ellen Widess wrote that she believes the city could legally enact the restrictions envisioned in the proposed ballot measure. We don't see a bar to the city or the county doing what they need to do, Widess said in a telephone interview Monday evening. We believe the city can use its authority to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among people involved in the adult film industry.

Columbia's first licensed sex shop might be shut down by the end of January as the local council rushes in a new law that bans the shop.

The City Council adopted a new law that sets jumped up restrictions on such businesses, including a 700-foot buffer between any establishment that sells sex items and the nearest protected structure.

That buffer was designed to force Taboo Adult Superstore from operating at its location in a commercial area bounded by neighborhoods and businesses, some of which have complained the shop will hurt their incomes.

Taboo got its current license under the city's zoning laws that set general rules for commercial establishments.

A nutter outcry 'forced' the council to dream up a way to close Taboo, which seeks to sell sex toys, lubricants and sexual material that critics have characterized as a porn shop

Los Angeles City Council has tentatively approved a measure that would require porn performers to wear condoms on production sets.

In a preliminary 11-1 vote, council members voted to approve the measure, which would require porn producers to provide and require the use of condoms on set in order to receive film permits in Los Angeles.

The ordinance still requires a second vote next week for final approval.

The council also agreed to create a group of law enforcement officials and state occupational safety regulators to determine how the measure would be enforced.

Councilman Paul Koretz said before the vote:

We can spend literally millions of dollars on an unnecessary election or we can do the right thing for free. For better or worse, the city of Los Angeles is nationally known as the capital of the adult film industry. We should be nationally known, also, as the home of a safe adult film industry.

Update: Condoms Confirmed

18th January 2012.  See article from xbiz.com

The Los Angeles City Council, 9-1, approved a new ordinance Tuesday requiring that all adult film actors wear condoms when filming within city limits. The ordinance, when it goes into effect, will allow the LAPD to perform spot checks on any set once a film permit is issued.

The measure next goes to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for his signature.

The Free Speech Coalition said that the adult industry trade group is in discussions with industry leaders and considering options for next steps.

Update: Signed by the Mayor

25th January 2012. See article from foxnews.com

Actors in adult movies filmed in Los Angeles will be required to use condoms under an ordinance signed into law by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and porn industry leaders say the regulation could lead them to abandon the nation's porn capital.

The law, signed Monday, will take effect 41 days after it is posted by the city clerk, something that could happen as early as this week.

Nutters with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which lobbied for years for such a law, expressed jubilation Tuesday and said they would now turn their attention to getting a similar condom requirement adopted elsewhere.

It's more of a nuisance than anything else, says Steve Hirsch, founder and co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment, arguably the most high-profile producers of adult movies in the world. Because the law's reach is limited to the city of Los Angeles itself, the San Fernando Valley, where a significant majority of adult movies are made already, and beyond remain fair game.

Currently, Vivid movie shoots are condom optional, Hirsch says, adding, we believe in letting the performers make the choice. Performers are required to be tested for HIV every 30 days and present proof of a negative result to sets where they will be working.

Ultimately, if the law is extended to make shooting porn in Los Angeles too difficult, Hirsch says, We'll look for other areas that are more welcoming. And we'll take the thousands of jobs we create along with us. If we leave the state, those dollars and the tax dollars will go along with us.

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