In the past five years, over 650 people with disabilities have been murdered by their parents, relatives or caregivers.
On Tuesday, March 1st, the disability community will gather across the nation to remember these disabled victims of filicide – disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers.
In the year since our last vigil, our community has lost over 60 more people to filicide. These are just the cases that we are aware of – since we began monitoring this issue, we learn about more murders every week. We read the victims’ names, see their photographs, and gather what information we can about their lives. The criminal justice system has continued to give lighter sentences to parents and caregivers who murder disabled children. And we have seen the news media continue to portray these murders in a sympathetic light. We hold the Day of Mourning vigils to draw attention to these injustices, to commemorate the lives of victims, and demand justice and equal protection under the law for all people with disabilities.
Since 2012, ASAN and other disability rights organizations have come together to send a clear message that disability is not a justification for violence. To learn more or sign up to lead a vigil, view the Anti-Filicide toolkit.
We’ll be at our local vigil on Tuesday, March 1st – and we hope to see you there. If you cannot attend a vigil in-person, please consider taking part in our Virtual Vigil.
COVID-19
Some Day of Mourning vigils are virtual, while others are in-person. We recommend that each person consider the potential risks, and make sure to wear a mask and social distance if you attend an in-person vigil. If you are concerned about attending a vigil in-person, please consider attending ours or another virtual vigil in your area.
All vigils below are virtual unless otherwise noted.
2022 Vigil Sites
USA
ALABAMA
Birmingham, AL
Alabama Care, [email protected]
ARIZONA
Tucson, AZ
Tom Racey, [email protected]
CALIFORNIA
Berkeley, CA
Spectrum: Autism at Cal, [email protected]
Burbank, CA
American Lutheran Church Burbank, [email protected]
Sacramento, CA
The Disabled and Nondisabled Alliance at Sac State, [email protected]
COLORADO
Durango, CO
Community Connections, Inc., [email protected]
DELAWARE
Newark, DE
ADAPT DELAWARE, [email protected]
GEORGIA
Tucker, GA
disABILITY LINK, [email protected]
ILLINOIS
Chicago, IL
Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition, [email protected]
INDIANA
Indianapolis, IN (In-Person)
Butler University Advocates For Autism, [email protected]
MARYLAND
Churchville, MD
Martina Kuzenski, [email protected]
College Park, MD
University of Maryland PCDI, [email protected]
College Park, MD (In-Person, UMD Students)
Leah Fleischer, [email protected]
College Park, MD (In-Person)
Kathleen Nicole O’Neal, [email protected]
MICHIGAN
Ann Arbor, MI
Disability Culture @ U-M, [email protected]
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis, MN
Queer Grace Community & Minnesota Autistic Alliance, [email protected]
NEVADA
Reno, NV
Center for Self Determination, [email protected]
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Statewide
Neighborhood Access, [email protected]
NEW JERSEY
Edison, NJ (In-Person)
Alliance Center for Independence, [email protected]
NEW YORK
Statewide
Kathryn Carroll, [email protected]
Hempstead, NY
Hofstra Law Disability, Rights, & Community, [email protected]
NORTH CAROLINA
Durham, NC (In-Person)
Active Minds at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, [email protected]
PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh, PA
The Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy, [email protected]
Collegeville, PA
Ursinus College, [email protected]
TENNESSEE
Johnson City, TN
Courtney Johnson, [email protected]
TEXAS
Ft. Worth, TX
The Self-Determination Group, [email protected]
UTAH
Salt Lake City, UT
Neurodiverse UT, [email protected]
VERMONT
Putney, VT (In-Person)
Landmark College, [email protected]
VIRGINIA
Blacksburg, VA
Virginia Tech, [email protected]
Williamsburg, VA (In-Person)
William & Mary Neurodiversity Student Group, [email protected]
WASHINGTON, DC
Autistic Self Advocacy Network, [email protected]
Canada
Canada-wide
Autistics United Canada, [email protected]
Toronto, ON
Autistics for Autistics Ontario, [email protected]