A Condom Mandate is a Must to Keep Porn Industry Clean
The Los Angeles June ballot may feature a proposed initiative that would mandate porn actors to wear condoms in all productions filmed in the city. Called “Safer Sex In The Adult Film Industry Act,” the law aims at treating condoms in the adult industry like helmets in construction work or goggles in welding — as a mandatory safety precaution.
This initiative is intended to create a safer work environment for adult actors. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation reports that adult film workers are 10 times more likely to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases. Herpes affects 66 percent of porn actors, and 7 percent of the actors are HIV positive. These mandatory precautions would decrease the chances of actors contracting such diseases, thereby protecting them and those who they come in contact with.
The $12 billion-per-year adult industry has successfully fought condom law efforts in the past. Opposition is rooted in a potentially negative impact on sales, as has been the case when adult production companies have previously instituted condom policies. Creating a safer work environment for these actors, however, is more important than potential revenue loss. One actor contracting a serious STD is all it takes to trigger a domino effect, which would not only jeopardize the health of all actors, but completely run the business to the ground.
Adult performers are members of the community, and this measure should become a standard public health law that the city strictly enforces.
-Aleks Levin
Staff Writer
New Condom Law In Los Angeles Will be Futile
It is unclear whether this measure can even be regulated by Los Angeles. The Los Angeles city attorney Carmen Trutanich announced that the city has no legal authority to require the industry to wear condoms and charge fees for inspections. The condom requirement can only be imposed by the state of California — a law that already exists at the state level in California, but has been difficult to enforce.
The state has been ineffective in enforcing this condom requirement, but that’s not to say that the adult entertainment industry is not taking its own steps towards disease prevention. The Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the industry, argues that city intervention is superfluous, as the adult entertainment industry has its own testing protocols and regulations that are highly effective at preventing an HIV outbreak.
This measure is a concern for taxpayers because it will cost $4.4 million to put it on the ballot. In a time of fiscal crisis, the city of Los Angeles cannot afford to put expensive laws on the ballot that will likely prove feeble. According to the city, it has already received threats of lawsuits from the adult film industry, which will only inflate the financial burden of this ballot measure.
It is worthwhile to fight against the spread of HIV, but change must come from within the industry, not the city.
-Madeline Mann
Opinion Editor
