Nikki Benz alleges she was violently assaulted in the workplace in 2016. Her primary assailant’s employer investigated and found her account credible enough to terminate his contract. But because her workplace is an adult film set, and because she is a sex worker, she won’t be getting justice. In fact, she was more vulnerable to being sued for defamation than likely to succeed in pressing charges against two men whose actions were caught on tape. She’s the most recent high-profile example of a sex worker denied the protection of the law because of what she does and who she is, despite its legality.
Benz’s credits for work in the porn industry go back to 2002. When she agreed to do a “boy/girl” scene involving anal sex, she was consenting only to be touched by her scene partner, Ramón Nomar. But after the director, “Tony T,” asked everyone else to leave—purportedly to clear the space to make using a handheld camera easier—it quickly became apparent that the two men left in the room weren’t sticking to any industry standard.
Nomar, Benz alleges, gagged her with her own underwear and covered her face, heightening her fear. Tony T began participating in the scene, Benz said, meaning he was touching her without her consent. He choked her. He’d go on to stomp on her head. She called “cut,” and the men ignored her. Benz’s police report said that Nomar penetrated her so violently “blood splattered on the white walls.” To be paid, she had to say she was okay. But she wasn’t.
Sex workers, onscreen and otherwise, have a much higher risk of sexual assault than the general population but have a much lower chance of getting justice. In New York, 46 percent of indoor sex workers reported they’d been forced into an act by a client; more than 80 percent of street-based sex workers have been violated. Benz’s experience was all too believable to others at risk and just as unbelievable to law enforcement, who discriminate against sex workers.
Benz spoke up soon after the assault on Twitter.
‘It wasn’t supposed to be a rape scene’: Why are pornographers getting away with on-camera assault?