There is a lot of misinformation surrounding the HIV positive test and sexual health in the European porn industry. In this post we address that for the benefit of other porn performers.

(Any medical advice in this article is to the best of our knowledge, always consult a doctor for the most accurate sexual health advice.)

On the 14th February 2019 we got news that a European performer in Spain tested positive for HIV, which was confirmed with a second test.

Our company stopped production of any hardcore videos that would put our performers at any level of risk.

The European industry rallied together to track down 9 performers that had worked with the HIV positive performer during the period between their last clear test and their current positive test.

Hopefully the situation is contained. But we can only say hopefully. A shutdown of all porn production for at least four weeks is recommended by the Free Speech Coalition:

In regards to EU productions, FSC strongly recommends: That producers and performers immediately engage in a production hold. While FSC has no ability to mandate or control such a hold in Europe, we would urge in the strongest possible terms that production stops for at least 28 days, and up to two months, until the scope of contacts, is known and the performer population can be retested

Performers retest with an HIV RNA qualitative test, rather than the less sensitive Europe-standard ELISA antibody test.

HIV testing in Europe

This HIV outbreak has highlighted serious gaps in European porn’s sexual health testing.

In Europe most sexual health testing in labs used by the porn industry uses the generation 4 combo ELISA/P24 test, which has a window period of 13-45 days.

Window periods are important when it comes to minimising risk in the porn industry. If the industry continues to use this test alone then it’s possible a HIV positive performer could show as negative in tests for up to 45 days. Window periods are complex and how long they are depends on your immune system and other factors.

There is a different test which is standard for porn in the USA called a HIV-PCR/RNA test which has a much shorter window period of 7-21 days. Currently the industry is working with labs across Europe to provide this test with a shorter window period so that performers can get back to work after just a four week shutdown.

The problem is that availability is patchy across different European countries. And in some places, like the UK where the government run most sexual health clinics, it’s been difficult to obtain this test at an affordable price.

The priority is to make the HIV RNA test standard for all porn productions in Europe before shooting begins again.

This test does not replace the ELISA test, performers should get both.

The reason performers should get both tests is that the HIV PCR/RNA test does not detect HIV in performers who are HIV positive but have a viral load of zero due to treatment.

The BHIVA (British HIV Association) say the risk of transmission in these people is zero based on studies of global HIB patients. But it’s important performers are informed about the status of people they work with and decide for themselves if whole they work with.

It should be said that during the shutdown period several people have been working incredibly hard to improve testing standards in European labs.

Industry alliance

A major problem highlighted during this HIV scare is that the European porn industry has no unified voice or agreed processes for dealing with health problems. It was thanks to the input of many North American based companies that more resolutions were found to tackle this situation.

Many European producers resisted the shutdown and wanted to keep news of the outbreak private. There has been retaliation for members of the European porn industry who have spoken publicly of the affair. For example, “Porno” Dan Leal received a lot of criticism from some producers for alerting the industry press to the outbreak.

This is something we fundamentally disagree with at Sugarcookie. We think that any potential health risks should be public knowledge. Performers and producers should be alerted immediately to mitigate damage.

A good thing that has come from so many industry conversations is that it has been unanimously agreed across the European industry for performers to now require a clear test valid within 14 days, instead of the previous 21 or 28 days. This is a push forward to improving safety standards in Europe.

Special credit should be given to Reality Kings / Brazzers / Mindgeek, Gamma Entertainment, “Porno” Dan Leal, Ruseful and Vixen Media Group for providing leadership and level heads when it was badly needed.

The agency problem

Talent agents in Europe have a lot of power. Some even have dual roles, producing porn content as well as managing talent. In Budapest it is agents who are also responsible for the health of the talent pool should there be a positive test.

At Budapest’s Interlab clinic performers must consent to have their medical records shared with these agencies should they get a positive test.

Despite this responsibility, the biggest resistance to halting porn production in Europe came from a few of these agencies. A general push to restart production from as early as February 18th was decided after a meeting of productions and agencies in Budapest on February 15th.

Many of the agencies also opted to keep their performers in the dark, releasing no information on the situation until Monday 18th.

Without this knowledge, many performers even reached out to Sugarcookie directly to try and find information amidst the rumours flying around.

In our opinion agents exacerbated the panic in the industry by not sharing up-to-date information. With some even ignoring models’ emails.

Whatever shape future industry self-regulation takes, it’s our opinion that agents should not be trusted with alerting talent to health problems as during this crisis many showed themselves to be extremely poor communicators and poorly educated on sexual health risks.

An example of bad practice, in November 2018 a porn performer tested positive for syphilis. He was extremely brave and announced it publicly on his Twitter.

Many agents failed to call for an industry shutdown and push pro-active syphilis treatment, which is what should happen when someone tests positive for syphilis. This was the sort of advice that agencies put out to performers.

One month later and there were two more syphilis cases in Europe and performers started to get really angry and called on the US industry association, the Free Speech Coalition for leadership.

Sadly, this time many agents failed to care for the health of the people they represent.

At the time of writing the majority of models we contacted had received no advice on HIV or the industry shutdown from their agents. However, some agencies reacted quickly and communicated with their performers immediately and unambiguously. Those agencies should be praised for their response.

Our advice to porn performers

At Sugarcookie we consulted with major US producers and recommend the following to porn performers in Europe:

Do not accept any porn work until the 4 week shutdown period has ended – approx March 15th – and there may need to be a longer shutdown so follow updates.

Do not do content trades with other performers or have sex with anyone in the talent pool during the shutdown period.

Get an HIV PCR/RNA test ASAP if you think you have been exposed to HIV.

Get a fresh sexual health test before starting work once the shutdown period ends..

Only work with performers who have used the HIV PCR/RNA and the ELISA HIV test.

Never work with anyone unless they were tested in the last 14 days.

Call out on social media or in industry press any producers in Europe who are breaking the shutdown and risking performer health by continuing to work.

If in doubt, follow the guidance of the Free Speech Coalition

Also please see our easy to understand guide the porn industry shutdown for performers. Download it here

If any performers want to keep up to date with the latest health advice from the industry or have any questions, please contact us via this form and we will send you updates as they happen or connect you with someone that can.

Finally we understand that some performers might have financial difficulties during this period without work. If that is the case please contact us. At it’s best the porn industry is like a family. There are producers willing to help by filming solo content, webcam and more. Please contact us using this form and we will try to help you or connect you with people that can. No performer should feel they have to put their health at risk by working during this period.