Sexually transmitted infections in the pornography industry

Workers in the sex industry deal with the occupational safety and health hazard of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Since the 1980s many cases of pornographic performers contracting HIV/AIDS have been reported. However, since the mid-2000s strict adherence to rigorous STI testing, and limiting sexual contact with only fellow tested performers has halted the spread of HIV and other STIs in the industry.

Types of STIs Experts suggest there are a total number of thirty-five infections and diseases that can be transmitted sexually. Because pornographic film making involves unsimulated sex, often without condoms, pornographic actors are particularly vulnerable to various sexually transmitted infections; especially HPV, Zika fever, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV/AIDS.

HIV cases

1980s and 1990s

According to former pornographic actress Shelley Lubben, a 1980s outbreak of HIV led to the death of 27 porn stars between 1985 and 1992, including Wade Nichols (who died in 1985), John Holmes (1988), Marc Stevens (1989), and Al Parker (1992). When Nichols died in 1985, his fellow porn star Ron Jeremy denied that Nichols' death was AIDS-related. Stevens died of AIDS in 1989, aged 46. Parker died in 1992 from complications of AIDS, aged 40. In February 1986, Holmes was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Six months previously, he had tested negative. During the summer of 1986, Holmes, knowing his HIV status, agreed to perform in two pornographic films to be filmed in Italy, without informing the producers of his HIV status. Performers in one film, The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empress, were Ilona "Cicciolina" Staller, who later became a member of the Italian parliament, Tracey Adams, Christoph Clark, and Amber Lynn. Performers in the other film, The Devil In Mr. Holmes, were Adams, Lynn, Karin Schubert, and Marina Hedman. Subsequently, it was revealed that Holmes had consciously chosen not to reveal his HIV status to his producers or co-stars before engaging in unprotected sex for the filming. As his health failed, Holmes disingenuously attributed his condition to colon cancer and first confided that he had AIDS in January 1987. He died from AIDS-related complications on March 13, 1988, aged 43. Marc Wallice, a known IV drug user, tested positive for HIV in 1998. On April 30, 1998, he was diagnosed by Adult Industry Medical (AIM) as HIV positive. It was alleged that he had hidden his HIV positive status for two years, with rumors that he accomplished this by using fake blood work through several HIV testing cycles to continue working. This speculation has been disputed and investigated using Wallice's tests, but it has not been doubted that during this period Wallice infected seven women on the set: Brooke Ashley, Tricia Devereaux, Caroline, Nena Cherry, Jordan McKnight, Barbara Doll, and Kimberly Jade.

2000s After three years of no reported HIV-issues within the industry, in April 2004, AIM diagnosed Darren James as being HIV-positive. It was concluded that James had been infected while engaging in unprotected anal sex with Brazilian actress Bianca Biaggi during a scene for the video Split That Booty 2 in Rio de Janeiro. AIM initiated an urgent search for other potentially infected performers. It was discovered that three actresses who had worked with James shortly after his return to the United States had also become infected. These were Canadians Lara Roxx and Miss Arroyo, and Czech-born Jessica Dee. The heterosexual segment of the porn industry voluntarily shut down for 30 days (a 60-day moratorium was originally announced but it was lifted early) while it tried to deal with the situation. Darren James, Jessica Dee, and Lara Roxx were barred from further production of sexually explicit content. About 60 actors who had had contact with James or Roxx were barred from working until HIV tests were completed and they were declared HIV negative. A further estimated 130 actors who had had contact with James were tested and received an HIV-negative result. A total of five actors were diagnosed with the virus by the end of the moratorium: one male and four females, including one transgender woman named Jennifer. In June 2009, AIM reported that a female adult entertainer had tested positive, though it was believed that transmission occurred in her private life. LA County Public Health claimed that there had been 16 "unreported" HIV cases in the adult film industry. The AIM Healthcare Foundation claimed those cases did not involve actors in production companies that followed their testing protocols and included members of the general public who used AIM Healthcare testing services or individuals attempting to work in the porn industry who never were able to obtain employment in adult films because of their failure to provide proof of negative status for HIV or other STIs.

2010s

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