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Friday 13 September 2013

First Californian Porn Star To Go Public Over Contracting HIV Says She Was Naive To Trust Industry Checks

Cameron Bay

Cameron Bay, the adult film actress who recently contracted HIV, is calling for more porn producers to encourage the use of safe sex on set. 
The 29-year-old actress says she was naive to trust industry STD tests and said other performers told her not to ask for condoms. 
'I learned that there's always someone younger and sexier, willing to do something you're not,' Bay told the Huffington Post. 'I think we need more choices because of that. Condoms should be a choice.'

Test results: Adult film actress Cameron Bay has contracted HIV
Test results: Adult film actress Cameron Bay has contracted HIV

Bay performed in her first porn scene a few months ago but, after just nine more scenes, she tested positive for HIV. 
The actress does not know when or from whom she contacted the disease, but admitted that none of the male performers she worked with used condoms. 
Bay said another actress told her: 'Don't even bring it up because they have somebody waiting to replace you.'
In November, a Los Angeles district passed a measure on condom use in the billion-dollar industry, despite a campaign against it by porn executives. 
'People don’t want to see adult films where people are wearing condoms,' Hustler publisher Larry Flynt had argued, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Bay, who also had to be treated in hospital after contracting a kidney infection after one film, said all but one of her scenes were filmed in Los Angeles, and one was filmed in San Francisco.
The San Francisco one, which involved bondage and anal sex, was the only set to have offered her the option of a condom, but Bay said she didn't feel she needed one because her male co-star had a negative STD test. 
'I was new to the industry. When I was told that I was safe to shoot, I was like, "OK, cool",' she said. 'I had no idea. I really didn't understand.'
Diagnosis: Cameron Bay has tested positive for HIV just months after filming her first porn scene
Diagnosis: Cameron Bay has tested positive for HIV just months after filming her first porn scene
Naive: 29-year-old Bay says she didn't ask for condoms because all porn actors have regular STD tests
Naive: 29-year-old Bay says she didn't ask for condoms because all porn actors have regular STD tests
Affected: Rod Daily, Bay's partner, has also tested positive for HIV
Affected: Rod Daily, Bay's partner, has also tested positive for HIV
Rod Daily
Film company Kink, which was behind the San Francisco production, confirmed that Bay had been offered a condom but had declined to use it. 

Since contracting HIV Bay has discovered that her health insurance will not cover her treatment. 
While injuries, such as the damage caused to one of Bay's breasts during a shoot, are covered by workers' compensation, because it is impossible to know which set she contracted HIV on, she has to cover her medical bills alone.
'I spent more in one day on medical stuff than I did on rent for two months,' she told the Huffington Post. 'I had a safety net of three months of not working and that cut into it a lot.'
Currently it is costing Bay $2,000 a month for pills to curb the disease. The actress has set up a Give Forward fund to help her meet her medical bills and plans to do online solo performances.
After her HIV diagnosis, a six-day moratorium was put in place to prevent further cases being spread. 
However, a week after the moratorium was lifted, two more porn actors, including Bay's boyfriend Rod Daily, tested positive for HIV. 
Funds: Bay has set up a web page to help raise money to pay for her treatment
Funds: Bay has set up a web page to help raise money to pay for her treatment
Spirited response: Cameron Bay has vowed to fight against the disease
Spirited response: Cameron Bay has vowed to fight against the disease

Bay believes the moratorium should have been in place for longer, and has been trying to raise awareness of the importance of safe sex on set. 
On her Twitter account she has vowed to fight the disease, saying: 'If I could beat my own deamons as a teen I can definitely beat this disease'.
She added that had she been properly informed she would have demanded a condom each time she worked, adding: 'At the end of the day, it's about your safety. And a piece of paper that says you're clear to shoot doesn't mean anything.'

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