PARIS—European adult conglomerate Dorcel issued a statement Wednesday concerning current political developments surrounding the adult industry in France, as follows:
On Wednesday, September 28th, the Senate Delegation for Women's Rights published a report on the French porn industry. While it is encouraging to see national representation finally taking an interest in the subject, the Dorcel Group regrets the associations represented in this document, and fears that they are likely to make this initial approach counterproductive in the long run.
The Senate Delegation for Women's Rights has, for several months, heard from all the stakeholders of the French pornographic industry, including both opponents and experts, in order to write the report presented this morning. This approach brought hope to the professionals of our industry, traditionally accustomed to lawmakers’ reluctance to objectively deal with the issues involved.
The report has therefore seen full collaboration from industry professionals. Actors, directors, sex positive feminists, producers, broadcasters—including the Dorcel Group—have all responded positively to requests for hearings from the Senate Delegation. The hope is that differences between professional pornography and amateur pornography will be fully heard. The whole of the professional industry has seized this unprecedented opportunity to start a dialogue with public authorities. Everyone involved came up with suitable proposals, in line with their personal experience, in order to protect professionals and prevent the criminal acts reported in the amateur environment from happening again.
The report, however, persists in putting the two in the same basket. It continues to impose a burden of guilt onto the actresses for their choice of career. That the unspeakable acts reported in the media should be associated to the entire industry is tantamount to pushing towards the abolition of pornography. For a long time, we have known of the harmful effects of such arguments, which ultimately fix nothing and hide everything. Professional artists and technicians in the industry are permanently ostracized and pushed towards a state of near-illegality. They put all artists—and particularly all actresses—in a precarious position.
During his interview, Gregory Dorcel, Chairman and CEO of the Dorcel group, made four proposals. Only one was included in the report: the creation of a reporting system which would allow victims and witnesses to easily report, to the relevant authority, sexual and moral abuses and offenses experienced or observed in the exercise of their professions.
Whilst we should be satisfied with this first step, it is regrettable that none of the other proposals have been adopted. Once again, lawmakers are deaf to our calls for rights so that we might protect both ourselves and our consumers.
As a reminder, the three other requests were made in the name of actresses and as a broadcaster:
1. To recognize the industry’s professions, through the creation of recognized and therefore supervised statutes, obeying the same rules and afforded the same protections as any other. Actors and actresses in this industry should all be reassured that it is a real job that obeys the same rules and is afforded the same protections.
2. To clearly allow the profession of X-rated artist’s agent: France is one of the only countries left in the Western hemisphere where agents cannot support porn artists, and whose legal status is still uncertain. The profession must be allowed to exist here just like in traditional cinema, where the agent supervises, advises and above all protects the artists.
3. To strengthen the role of broadcasters such as the Dorcel Group. We are in the process of imposing a binding code of ethics for X-rated filming on our partners. This code of ethics has been drafted in consultation with the actresses. Legislators could have required all French broadcasters to only buy and broadcast content that met at least equivalent standards. The role of broadcasters should be to help level up the industry, by only distributing productions with guaranteed working conditions and committed to creating an ever more responsible industry.
A long-awaited meeting with no real resolutions means that lack of understanding will prevail. Despite this, we are of the opinion that this report is really only the first step in the path towards a process of discussion and partnership between the professional pornographic industry and our national institutions. We are convinced that those working in the pornography industry will soon be protected and recognized.
The Dorcel Group continues to be fully committed to the development of a pornography industry that is ever more responsible, respectful, protective, and proud to exist.
