The healthcare advocacy group AIDS Healthcare Foundation is petitioning the Florida Department of Health after performers in an adult film made in Broward and Miami-Dade County were found not to be using condoms. But, the adult film isn’t considered a legitimate business in Florida.
The Foundation previously won a challenge to Los Angeles city law, creating a mandate that adult film producers force performers to wear condoms. AHF officials say that’s caused adult film producers to outsource their productions to other states, including Florida. But the group’s president, Michael Weinstein, told reporters in a Wednesday conference call that there are only two states that even allow pornography production, and Florida isn’t one of them.
“You know, aside from the issue of the sanitary nuisance complaint, the making of films in Florida is not protected by law. It is considered to be illegal prostitution,” Weinstein said.
In the complaint filed with the Florida Department of Health on August 16th, the foundation alleges a California-based porn company outsourced condom-less work to South Florida. AHF Public Health Coordinator Whitney Engeran argued that by doing so, they say, the company is contributing to the spread of disease.
“You know how many times do people have to get infected with an STD? When are you going to start to protect the people who work for you? And I think that’s really the bottom line – people need to be protected when they go to work from getting a disease. So, we hope the state of Florida will take this complaint seriously and act upon it,” Engeran said.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation filed a similar complaint with the state in 2010 but could not prove the film in question was produced in Florida. Now, advocates say they have proof of the film’s origin after California officials said they didn’t have jurisdiction over a film produced in another state. The Florida Department of Health could not be reached for comment.