LOS ANGELES—The Free Speech Coalition today posted the following statement to its blog announcing the end of the moratorium on adult productions, which can resume Friday, Dec. 13. The statement is reprinted in its entirety:
The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and the Performer Availability Screening Services (PASS) announced today that all first-generation partners of the the performer who tested positive last week have been completed. There have been no further positive HIV tests within the performer pool. Production can resume on December 13.
The last at-risk interaction between the performer who tested positive and another performer occurred three weeks ago, on November 21. The testing window for the RNA-Aptima HIV test is 7-10 days. PASS doctors have since tested and retested that performer’s first generation contacts in the performer pool, on-set and off. None generated a positive test for HIV.
As previously announced, all performers must have retested in the PASS system on or after December 5 in order to be cleared to return to work. December 5 is fourteen days after the last at-risk interaction between the positive performer and any member of the performer pool, and beyond the 7-10 day window for the RNA-Aptima HIV test.
“While we understand that a moratorium is difficult for both performers and producers, it’s important that we’re cautious when dealing with HIV,” said Diane Duke, head of the Free Speech Coalition. “For nearly a decade, the combination of moratoriums and testing have been successful at preventing HIV transmission in the adult workplace. However, we must be always vigilant, and work to improve that record.”
The current moratorium was called on December 5, after an adult film performer came up HIV positive during a routine screening. Production was immediately halted while “first generation” contacts (those who had contact with the positive performer that could potentially transmit the virus) were tested. Adult performers are tested every fourteen days for a slate of STIs, including HIV.
Moratoriums are one of the most effective tools we have to protect adult performers, and allow us to stop HIV at the industry gates. We thank the performers and producers for observing the moratorium, and the performer who worked so closely with PASS to identify at-risk partners.
More on adult testing protocols and information on how moratoriums are determined can be found at FreeSpeechCoalition.com.
