We need your help to make sure the lives of disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers are recognized. On Friday, March 1st, the disability community will gather to remember disabled victims of filicide – please consider signing up to be a vigil site coordinator.

COVID-19 may have changed how we hold events this year, but we can still gather to honor and remember those we’ve lost to filicide, thanks to the work of volunteer site coordinators. Click here to learn about what site coordinators do, or to sign up to lead a virtual or in-person vigil.

We welcome and encourage virtual vigils this year. Please only host an in-person vigil if it is safe to do so. An online vigil is just as meaningful, and many of the parts of an in-person vigil can still be done virtually. Many vigils show videos, read the names of those we’ve lost, do readings provided in the Anti-Filicide Toolkit, and more. When we gather over Zoom, we can still take a moment of silence, light candles, process together, and feel the power of our community.

In the past five years, over 570 people with disabilities have been murdered by their parents, relatives or caregivers, and in the year since our last vigil, our community has lost over 50 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. The criminal legal system has continued to give lighter sentences to parents and caregivers who murder disabled children. And we have seen the news 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. Given the ongoing pandemic, vigils should be virtual unless it is safe to do so in-person. If you are considering hosting an in-person vigil, please take the following steps to help you assess the risk of transmission in your local community:

• Look up COVID-19 Current Wastewater Viral Activity and vaccination rates in your area.
• If there is very little COVID-19 circulating in your area and vaccination rates are high, it may be safe to hold an in-person event with mitigation measures like masking.
• If these things aren’t true, you may be able to hold a vigil outside or hold a virtual vigil.
• Please look at current rates, consult your local government, and look at news sources to determine safety. If you are unsure, it is safest to hold a virtual vigil.
• We can help you plan a virtual event that brings your local disability community together safely and significantly for this important day. 

Click here to learn about what site coordinators do, or to sign up to lead a virtual or in-person vigil.

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035

 

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