Statement by Dawn Hawkins, Executive Director of NCOSE
Washington, DC – California regulators with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal/OSHA) failed to pass requirements for pornography performers to use condoms and other protective gear while on set. Four yes votes from the seven-member panel were necessary for passage. The vote was 3-2 in favor with one member absent and another board position currently open. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) calls on Cal/OSHA to renew its efforts to confront risks posed by pornography production to the health and safety of performers and the general public.
“California regulators were unsuccessful in their efforts to address the blatantly obvious safety and health risks posed by pornography production,” said Dawn Hawkins, Executive Director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “The pornography industry pushed back at the regulators after these requirements were proposed, arguing that if they had to make pornography in a manner that was safe it would put them out of business. The porn industry believes that, unlike every other industry in America, it should be exempted from protecting the health and safety of those they employ.”
“We doubt Cal/OSHA would grant approval to the restaurant industry to ignore safety regulations because the industry declared it wouldn’t be able to do business within the acceptable standards.” Hawkins continued, “If an industry is potentially hazardous, then measures to mitigate those harms must be instituted.”
