Porn Industry HIV Scare Was A False Alarm

By Margaret Hartmann  |  September 6, 2011 | 4:40pm
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Adult performers can breathe a sigh of relief — and carry on with their important work — because a second test revealed that the anonymous actor who sparked the shutdown of L.A.’s porn industry is not HIV positive. Diane Duke of the Free Speech Coalition, a porn industry trade group, says:

“After discussion with our medical expert, he has advised that it would be appropriate for production to resume and the focus of attention [be] brought to those who had worked with the performer. That group is already receiving care … Industry self-regulation and best practices are alive and well in the adult entertainment industry.”

Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, says that while he’s happy to hear that the performer has tested negative, this incident proves that not enough is being done to ensure the safety of porn actors. Weinstein said:

In terms of validating how all of this was being handled, we still don’t really know … We don’t know how they validated it … It’s like if you were dealing with mine safety or construction or food contamination, and we would have to be satisfied with what the company involved is telling us about it. The whole scare around this and the confusion that it’s generated just reinforce that relying on testing to protect the performers is wrong.”

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is pushing to require condom use in porn films.

Earlier: Adult Performer Tests Positive For HIV, Shuts Down L.A. Porn Industry

Image via Kzenon/Shutterstock.

 
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