Keira’s Legacy
On February 9th, 2020, Keira Kagan was killed by her biological father in an act of revenge filicide. This website is a tribute to Keira and a hub for our advocacy work. Family Court must change. Domestic Violence IS relevant to parenting and children like Keira deserve better. Thirty to forty children a year in Canada are killed by a violent parent, often after systems such as the Courts and Children’s Aid Services fail to protect them. There are innumerable Canadian children who experience violence and abuse at the hands of a parent who is supposed to protect them. This will lead to lifelong mental and physical health consequences for them. Support Keira’s Law which will provide education for Judges on Domestic Violence & Coercive Control. Follow me on Twitter @forlittlekeira -Jennifer Kagan-Viater (Keira’s Mom)
Keira and I.
Have you ever loved someone so much that it defied words? Someone who changed the way you viewed the world, made you better, more joyful, more human. Someone who you were honoured and privileged just to be around. This was my love for Keira. With a connection rooted in biology and solidified through our lived experience as mother and child, when I was with Keira, my heart sang. When she was born in 2015, I bought a picture on canvas and placed it above her crib. It read: “ Sleep child. For when you wake, you will move mountains.” Having Keira was like having a piece of my heart out there in the world. A piece of my heart that I tried desperately to protect.
Loving Parents Keep Children Safe.
A normal, loving parent has an overwhelming urge to protect his or her child from harm’s way. He or she feels the pain that the child experiences and will do anything to stop it. I knew the dangers that Keira was facing with her biological father and I begged and pleaded with the Court to keep Keira safe. Her father had a history of domestic violence towards me, was found to be a pathological liar living a double life, and was escalating. I had seen his dangerous and remorseless behaviour firsthand. I was able to escape him, but, tragically, I was unable to protect our daughter, Keira. Despite numerous red flags and warning signs, Justice Douglas Gray awarded Mr. Brown with very liberal access to Keira. “The abuse is not relevant (to parenting) and I am going to ignore it,” he said.
He also punished me for leaving with "loss of the fun time" with Keira.
Who was Keira Kagan?
Keira was a little girl who words truly can’t describe. She was compassionate, innocent, and playful and wanted the people around her to be happy. She loved vanilla cake, unicorns, rainbows, colourful clothing and being outdoors in nature. She preferred the cold weather over the hot summer sun. She believed in magic and princesses. She was an old soul, with an understanding far beyond her years, and she connected to people of all ages and from all walks of life. She was articulate and bright with a scientific mind. When she heard about injustice in the world, she was mad and wanted to do something to help. It sometimes seemed that she saw life as a battle between good and evil and wanted the good to prevail. She always wanted to be remembered & she will touch many lives through her legacy of child safety.