Porn 'cover-up' in store
2004-04-20 20:31
Los Angeles - State officials are starting on legislation that will require all porn actors to wear condoms during sex scenes, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.
The move comes after the $11bn-a-year adult entertainment industry was hit last week by an Aids scare when an actor and actress were diagnosed as being HIV-positive.
According to the report, state and county officials believe the scare has given them the leverage they need to force change.
The paper said the state division of occupational health and safety planned to begin inspections this week, marking the first time Cal/Osha has investigated the adult-film industry.
Industry representatives dispute the need for legal action.
They note there is stringent testing of all actors and actresses, that there have been only three Aids cases since 1999 and that customers prefer viewing sex scenes without condoms.
But state and county officials say condom use is an important health and workplace issue.
"You couldn't imagine a construction company sending a person to a work site without a hard hat, and nor should we think of someone in an adult-film industry production company working without a condom," said Peter Kerndt, director of the sexually transmitted disease programme for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
"I look at this strictly as an employer-employee issue." - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA