In the past five years, over 550 people with disabilities have been murdered by their parents, relatives or caregivers.
On Wednesday, 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 Wednesday, March 1st – and we hope to see you there. If you cannot attend a vigil in-person, please consider taking part in ASAN’s 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.
2023 Vigil Sites
USA
ASAN Virtual Vigil
Online
WASHINGTON, DC —In Person
Autistic Self Advocacy Network, [email protected]
CALIFORNIA
Berkeley, CA—In Person
Spectrum@Cal, [email protected] & [email protected]
Burbank, CA —In Person
American Lutheran Church, Burbank, [email protected]
GEORGIA
Atlanta, GA —Virtual and In Person
Vincent DeCastro, [email protected]
Brookhaven, GA—In Person
Elle Newbern, [email protected]
Darien, GA—In Person
Leila Yoder, [email protected]
ILLINOIS
Chicago, IL
Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition, [email protected]
INDIANA
Bloomington, Indiana—In Person
Neurodiversity Coalition @ Indiana University, [email protected]
Indianapolis, Indiana–In Person
Butler University Advocates For Autism / BUD, [email protected]
Muncie, Indiana—In Person
Aidan Draper, [email protected]
LOUISIANA
Lafayette, LA
The Autistic Penguins [email protected]
MARYLAND
Churchville, Maryland—In Person
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Harford County, [email protected]
College Park, MD
University of Maryland Libraries, [email protected]
MASSACHUSETTS
Weston, MA—In Person
Cambridge School of Weston, [email protected]
MICHIGAN
Ann Arbor, MI
Marjorie Herbert, [email protected]
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis, MN—In Person
Casey Velcko, [email protected]
Morris, MN—In Person
UMN Morris, [email protected]
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Portsmouth, NH
[email protected]
NEW JERSEY
Edison, NJ—In Person
Alliance Center for Independence, [email protected]
NEW YORK
Ithaca, NY—In Person
Disability Advocates Union, [email protected]
New York, NY—In Person
Autistic Adults NYC, [email protected]
Virtual, New York
NY Assn. on Independent Living, Not Dead Yet, and Ctr. for Disability Rights, [email protected]
Rockville Centre, New York—In Person
Molloy University, [email protected]
PENNSYLVANIA
Collegeville, PA
Ursinus College, [email protected]
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy, [email protected]
TENNESSEE
Johnson City, TN
Courtney Johnson, [email protected]
UTAH
Salt Lake City UT
Neurodiverse Ut, [email protected]
Taylorsville Utah
Salt Lake Community College Disability Resource Center, [email protected]
WASHINGTON
Ellensburg, WA
Central Washington University Accessibility Studies Club and CWU ABLE, [email protected]
WISCONSIN
Elm Grove, Wisconsin
Clayton Mortl, [email protected]
VERMONT
Putney, VT
Katie Roquemore, [email protected]
VIRGINIA
Blacksburg, VA
Lydia Qualls, [email protected]
Richmond, VA—Open only to staff & students
Pride Place at VHBG, [email protected]
VIRTUAL
U.S. Alliance of Women, Nonbinary Persons, and Other Gender Minorities with Disabilities, [email protected]
CANADA
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
DEEP (Disability Education Empowerment and Pride) in collaboration with the University of Guelph Disability Community [email protected]
Toronto, Ontario
Autistics for Autistics Ontario (A4A) [email protected]
EUROPE
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Shannon Town, Co. Clare, Republic of Ireland, European Union—In Person
NCPD – The Natonal Council for (the status) of People with Disabilities Company Limited by Guarantee / NCPD Autistic (Advocacy) Council of Irelandutistic (Advocacy) Council of Ireland [email protected]