California: Condom Requirement Sought for Sex-Film Sets

The Los Angeles City Council recently voted unanimously to draft an ordinance requiring condom use on pornographic film sets. The multibillion-dollar porn industry is based north of downtown, in the San Fernando Valley.

After multiple lawsuits were filed on behalf of several actresses who acquired HIV during the 1990s, the industry in 1998 established and financed the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation. AIM provided STD and HIV testing, and porn producers agreed not to hire performers untested in the previous 30 days. The non-profit also investigated the sources of infections and coordinated work stoppages when actors tested HIV-positive.

But over the years, county health officials have accused AIM of failing to cooperate with investigators and protect adult-film workers and their sexual partners. The county recently shut down AIM for not being a properly licensed community clinic. Re-opened this month as AIM Medical Associates P.C., and overseen by the California Medical Association, the for-profit's website promised to resume services "relieved from pointless harassment that came with oversight from the county health department."

A quarter of adult-film performers are diagnosed with an STD each year, according to the county Department of Public Health. Chlamydia and gonorrhea rates are seven times higher than those in the general population, DPH said.

Under the ordinance, the city law would link the issuance of film permits to on-set condom use. Whether the city has jurisdiction over public health is uncertain.

Since 2004, state occupational safety authorities have maintained existing health laws require condoms. The division's handful of fines since then have failed to alter practices significantly. "It's slow going. We have a limited number of resources," said Deborah Gold, a senior agency safety engineer.

Back to other news for February 2011