16/09/2025
Silence isn’t kindness…it’s complicity.
Ableism isn’t only hearing slurs or being denied access.
- It’s the quiet meeting where bias goes unchecked.
- It’s the moment a colleague is dismissed and nobody speaks up.
- It’s the policy ignored because it doesn’t impact you.
- It’s the silence that lets harm continue, unchallenged, unacknowledged, and unending.
Neutrality protects the status quo.
It shields exclusion and allows inequity to thrive.
And while silence may feel safe in the moment, it comes at the cost of someone else’s safety.
If you’re not actively dismantling ableism, you’re helping it stand.
Silence doesn’t absolve you. It aligns you with the side of oppression.
I help leaders move from awareness into action because silence should never be the strategy: beccalory.com
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Hi, I’m Becca Lory Hector! I was late-identified as Autistic at 36, and since then I’ve been dedicating my life to disability advocacy and research that focuses on improving Autistic quality of life (AQoL). I am available to speak to a wide range of groups both virtually and in person.
Follow me and check out my website BeccaLoryHector.com
Image Description: Dark navy background with bold white text reading, “Silence doesn’t protect people. It protects ableism.” The word “ableism” is highlighted in yellow. A small yellow flourish sits above the text, and a yellow megaphone illustration appears in the bottom right corner. In the lower left, the logo reads “BLH Becca Lory Hector – Self-Defined Living for Late-Identified Autistics.”