In hopes to curb the recent rise in prostitution in the West Jefferson area, City Council members met Monday to further discussions on ordinances for a prostitution-free zone.
The idea of the zone was brought forward by several recommendations from the Eugene Police Commission. The area would be a place where convicted prostitutes and johns could be prohibited from entering for up to a year. The ordinance would be similar to a Portland ordinance the Oregon Supreme Court is scheduled to address later this summer.
An open forum was held for citizens to voice their opinions on the proposed ordinance. Many residents who live in the area where the activity is taking place voiced their support for the proposition.
“I know the going rate for prostitutes in my area,” local resident Joni Dawning said to council members, “because men have pulled up to me in cars holding twenty dollar bills against the window when I am delivering newspapers in my neighborhood.”
Dawning said that the harassment can be seen throughout the community on a daily basis.
“My son has been propositioned on his way home from playing baseball,” she said. “We get targeted when we walk to the grocery store or park. This ordinance is a chance for the police and the community to come together and do what they say they will do. And the neighbors who know who the prostitutes are will help enforce the ordinance by calling the police.”
Other members of the community also feel strongly about the impact this ordinance could have.
“This ordinance criminalizes women before they even can take action,” a local prostitute told the council. “These women are doing the best they can to survive. It is hard to find a job in this town.”
Concerns were also brought up stating that the ordinance does not create a long term solution for the women.
“Eugene has the seventh highest cost of living in the nation,” an advocate against the ordinance reminded council members.
But for the most part, the individuals who spoke were in support of the ordinance.
A Eugene resident who asked to remain anonymous spoke to the council about how people need to believe in the place they live.
“It is not okay to live in an area where johns solicit women guests who come to my home,” she said. “It is not OK for my 11-year-old son to come home in tears because he was offered sex for sale.”
Other community members are also concerned about the impact the presence of prostitution has on their children.
“I moved here just under two years and I am shocked by the level of prostitution that takes place literally in my front yard,” Paul Thompson, a West Eugene resident, said. “I have three daughters and I feel that they are the real victims in all of this.”
Council members responded for the most part in support of the ordinance.
“This is a quality of life issue,” Councilor Nancy Nathanson said. “While we understand and sympathize with the men and women for whom prostitution is a way of life, tonight we need to focus on managing the quality of life for the residents in this area.”
Other members who questioned the ability of the ordinance to solve the entire problem said they still believe that this is a step in the right direction.
“I’m not sure if this is the final or best solution, but I hope that it makes a difference,” Councilor Scott Meisner said. “Prostitution remains a crime and it is not a victimless crime — the children in these communities are becoming the victims.”
Mayor Jim Torrey summed up the discussion by saying “it is not a clean state or environment for the residents or children, so at this point, looking past social needs, I am prepared to support the ordinance.”