OAKLAND, Calif.—Free Speech Coalition (FSC) Executive Director Diane Duke today attended the Cal/OSHA Advisory Meeting on bloodborne pathogen regulation for the adult industry. The meeting was held in Oakland.
The meeting agenda included a presentation from the San Francisco County Department of Public Health, followed by a report from the previous Cal/OSHA Medical Issues Subcommittee meeting that took place in September, in Oakland.
At today’s meeting, FSC also made a presentation to the Cal/OSHA Board on behalf of adult industry stakeholders.
HIV nonprofit activist organization AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented the Cal/OSHA Board with a petition in further efforts to demand mandatory condom regulations for adult industry productions. The organization was represented by its legal counsel.
Industry attorney Paul Cambria, who attended the meeting, said, “The position advocated by AHF will place adult industry workers in a far less protected environment than they are in now [and is] sure to drive production to locations where there are no protections. Under current procedures the incidence of STDs in the adult industry is significantly less than it is in the population as a whole.”
“The meeting started on a productive note with a constructive and proactive discussion,” added FSC’s Duke. “Unfortunately it went south rapidly when AHF came to the front of the room and aggrandized its political agenda. Health for performers is the goal for the industry—we will continue sound industry health practices in spite of AHF’s political posturing.”
FSC also has issued the following general statement regarding the current situation in developing industry-appropriate regulations for adult productions, as well as the need for further discussion between industry stakeholders and officials at Cal/OSHA. It also addresses the detrimental influence AHF has had the proceedings with Cal/OSHA.
“The current CalOSHA regulations have been imposed devoid of any dialogue with adult film professionals whatsoever. Regulations developed for medical clinics in the early 1990s have been arbitrarily imposed upon the adult industry. In no other industry would this kind of regulation be tolerated. Moreover, Cal/OSHA has taken a zero-risk approach to the adult film community—a standard no other industry is required to meet.
“AHF, LA County [Department of Public Health] and CalOSHA are taking the approach that any and all incidents of STIs happened at work. With patient Zeta, and patient Zero in 2009, that was not the case. A percentage of all sexually active individuals will contract an STI and/or HIV—that is a statistical fact. One would be naïve to believe that those statistics don’t apply to adult-industry professionals as well. Still worse, the adult community must spend a great deal of time addressing false claims and wrong assumptions.
“The adult entertainment industry has come to the table to work with CalOSHA, in an attempt to develop industry appropriate regulations. It is a shame that AHF is politicizing and undermining the effort with ridiculous attempts to go around the process—asking LA City Council and LA County Commissioners to regulate something they know nothing about and have no authority to regulate, and filing frivolous lawsuits. AHF is demonstrating nothing but contempt for our industry, utter disregard for the process that CalOSHA has defined, and complete disrespect for those tasked and trusted by the Standards Board.
“These are important, complex issues that require thoughtful dialogue and research to understand fully. Such dialogue and research underlie the regulation of all other California industries. If CalOSHA is truly concerned about workplace safety, then it will take the necessary steps it needs, not only to provide adult entertainment businesses and professionals with the opportunity to provide feedback, but also allow for a thorough and in-depth study of adult industry-related data.”
For more information, visit www.freespeechcoalition.com.
