SHERMAN OAKS, CA — Amid growing uproar within and without the San Fernando Valley’s adult entertainment industry, Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation on Monday released new recommendations for health-status interactions between content producers and performers.“It has come to our attention that adult industry companies are concerned that they may be shooting someone who is on the quarantine list [after testing positive for HIV],” Dr. Sharon Mitchell noted in a special update posted to AIM’s website at AIM-Med.org. “AIM has taken steps to insure that this does not happen. We have taken the names of all the talent who are waiting for their next test date (and not working in between), off of our website database for the time being. This way, if you do not see a name of a person you wish to shoot on the site, don’t use them, or at least call our office, as there is an explanation.
“Also, at this time we are not recommending that production managers accept any copies of [AIM health-status] tests, even if it looks like an original,” Mitchell added. “Better to be safe than sorry and call the offices. Allow us make sure it’s authentic. We are not recommending that anyone cancel a shoot schedule.”
AIM and the adult industry as a whole have come under increasing fire from state and county health officials and special interest groups after AIM last week revealed, under duress, that a female performer tested positive for HIV. Worse, it appears the performer was allowed to work in an adult video on the strength of a negative test more than 30 days old. Between the most recent test and the positive result—a span of two days—the performer shot at least one scene, exposing at least one other performer, a male, to the infection.
The incident precipitated an outcry from mainstream HIV-AIDS charities and health officials, who immediately began calling upon state legislators to mandate condom usage on all adult film sets. In addition, public health authorities have accused AIM of failing to report at least 16 and perhaps as many as 22 positive test results during the past five years and of being “uncooperative.” Mitchell addressed those allegations in her Monday update.
“Yes, we are in cooperation with the HIV Epidemiology Department of Los Angeles, as we always have been since our inception in 1998,” she wrote. “Bear in mind that everyone who has been exposed [in the current incident] is being extremely cooperative and patient. There are no positive tests from exposures thus far, and AIM does not expect any.”
She also told the Los Angeles Times no HIV infections discovered by her clinic since 2004 have involved active adult-industry performers. In 2004, a male performer’s positive test caused the majority of adult film production to close down for up to six weeks.
Mitchell’s assurances have done little to placate Los Angeles County health officials.
“We have an industry that is exposing workers to life-threatening diseases as part of their employment,” Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health for the county, told the L.A. Times. “That is outrageous and anachronistic. These infections are virtually entirely preventable.”
Adult industry trade group Free Speech Coalition is urging both sides of the issue to remain calm, maintain open channels of communication and keep recriminations and accusations to a minimum.
“The circumstances are tragic and, of course, there is cause for grave concern anytime anyone is diagnosed with HIV,” FSC Executive Director Diane Duke said. “That is why the Free Speech Coalition has, and continues to, work with our members and the industry to develop standards and best practices to protect industry performers.
“What we know is that government-imposed regulation does not work, and self-regulation of our industry does,” Duke continued. “That is why our industry has been so successful in preventing HIV transmissions.”
In December, FSC published its voluntary Code of Ethics for Adult Businesses, which can be found at TinyURL.com/luouna. The standards and recommendations were developed by the FSC in collaboration with adult industry members to introduce common, fundamental practices to which the trade association encourages industry professionals and businesses to adhere.
