The Free Speech Coalition today reported that an adult performer from Canada recently tested positive for HIV. This performer had been working outside the PASS system and tested positive for HIV after an encounter in their private life.
The unidentified performer was not affiliated with PASS or any PASS productions, and is not connected to the production hold in April.
The FSC statement:
We have been in contact with the performer, partners, production companies, and PASS-compliant clinics to determine if there were any possible interactions that could have posed a risk to performers within the PASS database or elsewhere. There was none, and no production hold was or is required.
We ask both the press and those within our community to refrain from speculations as well as from peddling stigma, fear and shame.
The incident should reaffirm the importance of PASS database and protocols. We live in an age when anyone with a camera and an internet connection can produce adult video. Production happens outside the U.S. with increasing frequency, with some small producers accepting paper or PDF tests, which are easily tampered with, or accepting tests beyond the 14-day requirement of PASS protocols.
The protocols we now call PASS were developed in 2004, and they have been incredibly effective at protecting adult performers within the system. In fact, there has not been an HIV transmission on a PASS-compliant set since the protocols were instituted over a decade ago. By adhering to the protocols, we can keep this safety record.
PASS can only be effective for those who use the system.
Always Check PASS Database
Unlike paper tests or PDFs, the PASS data system is verifiable. Data comes directly from the testing centers, can not be forged, and is not vulnerable to date calculation skills. If a performer is listed as clear in the PASS database, they have tested clear for HIV and other STIs within the 14- day window.
Only Work on PASS Compliant Sets
The PASS protocols are the most comprehensive and reliable way of preventing STI transmission on adult sets. It doesn’t matter the size of the set, or the production company. Any production — even content trades, customs and cam show — should comply with PASS protocols to ensure performer safety.
PASS Is Free
We designed PASS to be universally available to all people on all sets, from large studio productions to small customs and cam shows. Performers and producers can access PASS entirely for free, and subsidies for testing costs can be partially off-set through the Performer Subsidy Fund.
Since the protocols were first instituted in 2004, we have worked constantly to evolve and improve the protocols, as testing becomes more accurate, and to increase prevention options. The PASS advisory board will reconvene in the new year, to discuss adding oral and rectal swabs to increase protections against STIs for those working in the performer pool.
2 Responses
Unidentified? LOL we broke this story yesterday who the person is and if they didn’t work in the pass system why put the industry on hold a before months ago when they first found out? The FSC is so full of shit.
FSC cannot release the patient’s name absent a HIPAA waiver to do so.
Also, I believe your timeline is off: in this case, after interfacing with the performer, their partners, production companies, and PASS-compliant clinics it was determined that there were no possible interactions that might have posed a risk to performers within the PASS database or elsewhere. There was no overlap, and no production hold was ever required.
That would mean that the performer who was the subject of yesterday’s post was not the cause of the production hold in April.
This thesis is supported by the performer’s tweet that we published in yesterday’s post, wherein she says she’s been fighting “these last couple [of] months.” April is more than a couple of months from December.