By: Megan Okuma
As of last Thursday, May 11, 2023, the Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declaration officially ended. With warmer temperatures and spring in full swing, our first official summer without COVID-19 restrictions is fast on the horizon.
Despite the pandemic heading into the past, its effects will long be felt, including its effect on Seattle’s public restrooms.
The pandemic exposed and exacerbated cracks in many systems throughout the country, and the inadequacies in access to public restrooms were one of those, though not often discussed.
Pre-pandemic, Seattle already didn’t have many public restrooms to boast but during the height of COVID-19, restaurants, libraries, and public buildings closed their doors and bathrooms in an effort to prevent the spread. Even as restrictions let up, some private businesses continued to keep their restrooms closed to the public. This left many, especially those experiencing homelessness, without options to relieve themselves.
These issues continue to persist and some believe the best course of action is to approach the lack of access to public restrooms as a public health issue. Part of this perspective means employing solutions that are informed by population health which is concerned with the health of groups or communities and primarily focuses on health promotion and disease prevention.
Dr. Jennifer Fricas, an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at Seattle University, provided insight into how intertwined public restrooms and public health are.
“The lack of access to public restrooms creates issues for so many people. We think about people experiencing homelessness but it’s also a problem for people with chronic illness and disabilities and for parents with small children.”
A survey done by the Chron’s and Colitis Foundation found that nearly 20% of the general public has had at least one public bowel or urinary accident in their lifetime. Among those who reported having an accident, 43% of respondents said it happened within the last 12 months, which translates to almost 8% of the general population.
“The U.S. has a lack of coherent policy on public restrooms in general,” said Dr. Fricas. With this responsibility falling to private businesses, they have the right to refuse people and often do. This becomes a problem when businesses discriminate against who is allowed to use their bathrooms.
“The restrooms aren’t really the problem. It's a site where the problem can take place.”
While the city does have some public restrooms available, they are often in disrepair, are unclean, or can be compromising to one’s privacy.
Concerns about drug use, sex work, and cleanliness often come up in these conversations. In response, Teresa Mosqueda said, “That shouldn’t be a reason for us to shut down facilities; that should be a reason for us to reevaluate.”
Solutions other cities have taken include self-cleaning toilets and public-private partnerships between businesses and the city. In return for allowing the public to use their restrooms, the city pays the business a fee or provides them free space to advertise.
However the problem is solved, Dr. Fricas says that by addressing the root causes of such concerns the solutions won’t have to be at the expense of the restrooms.
“The restrooms aren’t really the problem. It's a site where the problem can take place.”
Everyone has to use the bathroom, it's a part of being human. Yet the awkwardness and often disgusted feelings evoked when discussing this aspect of the human experience prevent many from the having important and serious conversations needed to fix the issue.
Not even the politicians want to have this discussion!
By taking this issue and reframing it as a public health issue, and even as an equity issue, these conversations don't have to be so difficult. One of the most powerful tools the public has is their voice. Speaking up and talking about the lack of public restrooms in Seattle can be the first step in creating the restrooms the city deserves.
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