A community survey created by Salem’s Human Rights Commission and Western Oregon University found that more than half of respondents have experienced discrimination in the city.
Half of those incidents were in the past three months, the survey showed. The most common reasons for discrimination were housing status, gender and race.
Residents were surveyed between May 5 and 21, 2021. The city released results Tuesday.
About a quarter of those who responded rated Salem as “poor: quite a bit of discrimination” and a third said it was “failing: a lot of discrimination.”
The Human Rights Commission sponsored the survey for the third time since 2017 and received nearly four times the responses this year – 835.
Of those, 247 respondents came through the City of Salem’s Facebook page, 222 came through a community organization, 87 came through friends or family, and 209 of Salem’s unsheltered residents filled out paper surveys collected by students and community volunteers.
Read the full survey responses. Check back with Salem Reporter Wednesday for a more detailed story on the survey.
-Saphara Harrell
