By presenting the results of participative community group evaluations held recently, this paper describes the forms, actors, and sites of discrimination and stigma affecting transsexuals, travesties, gays, bisexuals, and HIV-positives persons in various metropolitan regions of Mexico. It shows how the violence against those populations is reproduced and legitimated by public institutions. It argues that this institutionalized discrimination, together with the individual reproduction of stigma, and misinformation regarding sexual health and prevention; result in a dramatic degree of vulnerability for this populations, in terms of health and access to Human Rights defense, security, and legal services. Furthermore, those conditions also favor urban segregation and, indirectly, legitimize the social status quo in urban space.
discrimination; vulnerability; violence; sexual minorities; Mexico
