Day of Mourning for people with disabilities killed by relatives or caregivers

Photo from Twitter user @AspieSide during March 30 #vigilforgeorge
List of people with disabilities who were killed by parents or caregivers

The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network will observe a Day of Mourning on March 1 for people with disabilities killed by their relatives and caregivers.

Day of Mourning began last year as a response to the murder of George Hodgins, a 22-year-old man with autism, and to the way people were talking about his death.

“Far too often, according to organizer Zoe Gross, “when a disabled person is murdered by a caregiver, journalists write as though it is the disabled victim who has perpetrated a crime simply by existing. In discussing the killing, people say that we should feel sorry for the murderer, because they had to live with a disabled relative. When a disabled person is murdered, many people act as though the murder victim’s life, not their death, was a tragedy.”

Vigils were held March 30 in 18 cities and on March 31, according to Gross, a 4-year-old autistic boy named Daniel Corby was drowned in a bathtub by his mother.

“There is so much work to be done to change public perceptions about the worth and the quality of our lives. That is why the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network will be holding Day of Mourning again this year on Friday, March 1st. And I need your help to organize vigils across the country.”