YNOT – With most adult entertainment studios and independent producers returning to business as usual following an industry-wide production moratorium,
Adult Production Health & Safety Services is requesting agents and filmmakers contact the organization to verify the syphilis testing and treatment status of performers before shooting sexually explicit scenes.

APHSS, established by adult industry trade association Free Speech Coalition to serve as a voluntary, community-based health and workplace safety outreach program, maintains a database documenting the work-readiness of thousands of performers who have elected to participate. The database does not reveal any personal medical information for any of the performers, but it does confirm whether the performer is available to work with scene partners. Performers may be listed as “unavailable” if they have not tested within the past 28 days or if a test indicated the possibility of STI infection.

APHSS also assists performers in finding medical care if they believe they may have been exposed to a communicable disease, and acts as an alert mechanism in the case of an STI outbreak.

In late August, APHSS confirmed an outbreak of syphilis among adult performers and called for a voluntary production halt until every performer in the industry could be tested and/or receive prophylactic treatment. The organization provided testing and treatment free of charge.

Performers who underwent the prophylactic treatment early in the process began returning to work Sept. 2.

“For performers who have chosen not to participate in the APHSS database, we can verify that they received syphilis testing and treatment with a phone call or an email,” FSC Chief Executive Director Diane Duke said. “We understand that many performers are anxious to go back to work, and producers need to book production schedules. To speed the process, we want to provide the fastest options to getting everyone cleared for production.

“Due to recent events, which have been difficult for performers, producers and agents, we want to make sure that everyone receives appropriate services and gets assistance as quickly as possible,” Duke added. “We want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding. This situation was a new one for the industry, and we are grateful for the cooperation of industry members at this time.”

Producers and agents may contact APHSS by phone (818-348-9373) or [email=jane@freespeechcoalition.com]email[/email].