People with disabilities are twice as likely as non-disabled people to be victims of violent crime. Every year, the national media covers dozens of stories about murders of people with disabilities by family members or caregivers, and many more go unnoticed.
Too often, the coverage focuses on sympathy for the murderer, because they had to live with or care for aperson with a disability. The message to the public is that our lives—not our deaths—are the tragedy.
On March 1st, join the Autistic Self Advocacy Network in remembering people with disabilities who lost their lives at the hands of family members or caregivers. We will remember those we have lost and remind the world that their lives had value.
