What is this site?
The Disability Day of Mourning website is a memorial to the people with disabilities who were victims of filicide. Active cataloging of cases started in mid-2014; this site contains cases from 1980 to the present.
What is the Day of Mourning?
Every year on March 1st, the disability community comes together to remember the victims of filicide – people with disabilities killed by their family members. Vigils are held on the Day of Mourning in cities around the world.
What is filicide?
“Filicide” is the legal term for a parent murdering their child. In the disability community, “filicide” is also used when talking about a relative or household member killing a child or adult relative with a disability, by action or inaction. Legally, these cases are categorized as murder, manslaughter, or simply homicide.
When we say “filicide,” we are talking about a pattern of violence that starts when a parent or caregiver murders their child or adult relative with a disability and continues in how these murders are reported, discussed, justified, excused, and replicated.
Further Reading
More information, including our Anti-Filicide Toolkit, can be found here.
Disability Day of Mourning In the News
2025 Memorial Lists
2024 Memorial Lists
2023 Memorial Lists
If you are aware of additional cases beyond those listed here or have additional information about a case listed, please email info@autisticadvocacy.org
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors, please be aware that this web site contains images and names of people who have passed away.
Sorry Business is a set of traditions and ceremonies followed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people regarding the loss of a loved one, including the practice of not using the deceased person’s name for a period of time determined by the grieving relatives and friends. We want to respect and honor this custom. For victims who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait islander, we will prioritize first the deceased person’s wishes, then the language that Australian Aboriginal groups are using. If these cannot be found, we will use the same wording as local news sources.
Sources: Sorry Business (Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care); Death and Sorry Business (Common Ground)