California's AIDS Healthcare Foundation is planning to file a petition which could see a ban on the production of 'bareback' condomless porn.
"Although workers in adult films should enjoy protections under the current phrasing of the regulation, the adult film industry has steadfastly refused to take any steps to protect its workers from diseases spread by blood-borne pathogens, resulting in thousands of employees becoming infected with sexually transmitted diseases," explains Michael Weinstein, President of the gay-run AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
If the petition is successful, the change would be made to the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board's policy on blood-borne pathogens.
Bareback porn has become much more commonplace in recent years, with some gay porn producers promoting the fact that their videos are 'condomless'. Other porn studios, like Chi Chi LaRue and Eurocreme have spoken out against the practice and have vowed never to produce porn showing unprotected anal sex.
"There is a window period between an individual becoming infected with the HIV virus, and that individual showing up positive in an HIV test. During the window period, the infected individual can transmit the virus to others during unprotected sexual intercourse," Eurocreme CEO Max Lincoln told PinkNews.co.uk.
"For that reason it is not possible for a production company to guarantee the safety of an actor in a bareback film."
