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As the November 6 vote approaches, bringing with it L.A. County's controversial Measure B, that would require adult film stars to wear condoms on the job, a new study shows our porn performers get more sexually transmitted diseases than prostitutes in Nevada.
"The report was written by six public health experts, whose affiliations include the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and UCLA," explains L.A. Now.
Conducted in 2010, the study that looked at "168 adult film performers in Los Angeles County found that 28%, or 47 performers, tested positive for either gonorrhea or chlamydia or both diseases."
From the report:
"Compared with the brothel workers of Nevada, another legal sex worker population in the United States, [gonorrhea] and [chlamydia] prevalence in this study is significantly higher."
And why is this? Well, brothel workers in Nevada are covered by a state law that mandates condom use and weekly testing. "Since those rules went into effect in Nevada, there have been no cases of HIV infection, and their infection rates were negligible," elaborates L.A. Now, using information from the report.
The official conclusion of the report from the abstract offers a subtle endorsement of Measure B:
Adult film industry performers had a high burden of STIs. Undiagnosed asymptomatic rectal and oropharyngeal STIs were common and are likely reservoirs for transmission to sexual partners inside and outside the workplace. Performers should be tested at all anatomical sites irrespective of symptoms, and condom use should be enforced to protect workers in this industry.
