The theme of this year’s International AIDS Conference is Turning the Tide Together.

Apparently the planners of AIDS 2012 did not have women with HIV in mind, because none are presenting on the plenary sessions that were announced this week!

Grassroots AIDS activists across the globe were angered this week by the announcement of the plenary sessions, particularly groups representing/comprised of HIV-positive women of color. In addition, Phill Wilson of Black AIDS Institute is the only plenary speaker known to be living with HIV.

In response to the announcement, the U.S. Positive Women’s Network wrote a letter to the AIDS 2012 Conference Committee that dozens of organizations and activists have signed on to in support. They write:

Women and girls account for over half (50%+) of all people living with HIV globally, and 26% of new HIV cases occur in young women ages 15 to 24 years old. In the United States, where the 2012 International AIDS Conference will take place, women, especially women of color, bear an increasing burden of the HIV epidemic and continue to suffer from disparities including disproportionately poor health outcomes and higher rates of mortality. Further, young women, young women living with HIV, and transgender women globally face unique challenges and circumstances related to HIV prevention, care, support, and the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights and justice.

As representatives of the women and HIV community, including women living with HIV, we write to urge your leadership in ensuring that the upcoming 2012 International AIDS Conference is a platform that comprehensively addresses and engages women, girls, and gender equality through the theme and content of the formal conference program, plenary topics, the selection of speakers, presenters, and the provision of scholarships.

To read their full statement and demands, visit their note on Facebook, and show your support!

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