HEALTH: AIDS/HIV foundation says laws need to be enforced.
Advocates for those with AIDS and HIV called on the Los AngelesCounty Health Department on Thursday to force condom use onproduction sets in the adult entertainment industry.
'We're calling on the county to shut down porn sets that do notuse condoms,' said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS HealthcareFoundation.
Weinstein said, under California Health & Safety Code, healthofficials have a right to regulate film sets if they believe aninfectious or communicable disease is present.
'It's not an issue of right,' Weinstein said. 'What takes placein a private setting is different than in a commercial setting.'
County officials said they had no comment Thursday.
Weinstein's call for action was in response to last week's newsthat a woman who works in the adult entertainment industry testedpositive for HIV. Health workers at the Sherman Oaks-based AdultIndustry Medical Healthcare Foundation, where she is a client, saidthe case was an isolated one and is significantly different from theHIV scare that jolted the industry five years ago.
Those who work and support the industry say self-regulation, suchas the 30-day testing for HIV and other sexually transmitteddiseases, works better than government regulation, which could forceproduction to move to other states.
'It's been five years since there was a positive (test result) inour industry. It was caught immediately, showing it does work,' saidDiane Duke, executive director for the Canoga Park-based Free SpeechCoalition. She said condom use on sets should remain optional.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the Los Angeles CountyCommission on HIV both want legislation that would require condomuse on production sets.
Officials with the state Division of Occupational Safety andHealth said employers are required to establish an effective controlplan to limit exposure to bloodborne pathogens including semen andother fluids. The code does not require condom use.
Six code citations have been issued against adult film productioncompanies in the Valley since 2004, said Erika Monterroza,spokeswoman for the Department of Industrial Relations, whichoversees Cal-OSHA.
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