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March 27, 2001
For Immediate Release

Opinion Piece:
Lesson to be learned from mother who killed her child
by Sally Rogow

The murder of 14-year-old Chelsea Craig by her mother in Montreal on March 20 was tragic, but unfortunately not unique. Only time will fully reveal why this mother took the life of her daughter, who was disabled with Rett's Syndrome.

But given what we know about child abuse and filicide (parents killing children), the fact that she also tried to take her own life speaks volumes.

Across Canada over the past decade, as governments have wrestled to bring deficits under control, taxes have increased and services have been cut. Among those most deeply affected have been children with disabilities and their families.

What that amounts to for them is stress, often at levels few of us can imagine - and there is no greater recipe for family violence than much stress and little support.

Why are so few resources devoted to the families that need them most? Probably because our society values those who enrich the bottom line. Too often, we consider those who do not do this as less than fully human. This makes it easy, when money is tight, to cut services to them.

The irony is that in so doing, we dehumanize ourselves. And we can only re-humanize ourselves by learning to value the way every other human enriches us, each one in their own way.

It is tragic that Chelsea Craig's mother took her child's life. But the fact that she also attempted to take her own life suggests that she believed she had reached the limits of her ability to cope and could see only one way out.

Chelsea Craig's mother must be held to account for her crime as fully as if Chelsea had been a typical child. This means considering that she also attempted suicide, not because it excuses her, but because it may help us learn how to prevent others from doing the same thing in the future.

For more information or to arrange to speak with Sally Rogow, contact The Person Within Project, at the BC Institute Against Family Violence, 669-7055, toll-free 1.877.755.7055, email reception@bcifv.org or visit www.bcifv.org.