It was "marginalized groups" who were front and center at the International AIDS Conference this week in Mexico City. That is, women and children living in poverty, the incarcerated, stigmatized MSM (or "men who have sex with men"), drug users, and sex workers -- all populations at high-risk for HIV and AIDS. That last group, the often-dismissed "hookers" of street parlance, made for a unique presence at the conference, in the spotlight and yet on the sidelines.
Read more at my latest "Letter from Mexico City," titled, "AIDS Conference Take 3: Lost in Translation."
* ALSO: I spoke with Free Speech Radio News about my impressions from the AIDS Conference (on this phenomenon and this idea) on Thursday. Listen here. And here, for voices from sex workers gathered this week in D.F.
** Image above: Members of the Brigada Callejera, marching in central Mexico City, via AIDS2008.COM.