A graph shows a visualization of stalking victimization data on women by percentage per state. Georgia had a victimization rate of 33.5%, reflecting worries about crimes on women in the Athens community. “You could do everything right. You could send people locations, you can tell people how long they’re going to be gone for and still have something like that happen to you purely because you are a victim of circumstance and you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time,” UGA freshman Sarah Posey said.

“Unfortunately, we live in a society where there are evil people that want to do harm to people (and) women become victims more than anyone,” Jerry Saulters, ACC Police Department Chief of Police, said. “They have been targeted for years and nothing has changed in our society as far as that goes.”In light of Riley’s death, CCHS English department teacher Grace Crumpton has noticed many female students at CCHS on edge and worried for their safety. As an educator, Crumpton believes that the first step towards addressing these events is reframing the issue so all the responsibility to stay safe doesn’t fall on those targeted.

“We educate women about how to not be attacked, but we don’t educate men about mental health and how to not grow up to be an attacker and to look out for women in their lives. I don’t think our young men are taught that enough,” Crumpton said.

Like Crumpton, Bhuiyan feels that more than can be done at CCHS to support young females in the community.

“(CCHS) has had talks with us (as) women (to) ‘cover up your body, don’t wear stuff like that’ and basically making it seem like it’s all the woman’s fault for being a woman, having woman body parts,” Bhuiyan said. “What they need to do is teach everyone what respect is, what ‘no’ means and what boundaries are.”

“Depending on the nature of the violation, then we solicit support from the (CCSD) District Office, but I think Advisement carries the expectations that should be established at home with parents. Those are the factors that I feel like really impact whether or not a student comes to school and makes good choices,” Huff said.

Among these tough conversations, the news of Riley’s death wasn’t officially acknowledged in the classroom setting, as noted by CCHS junior Sam Kiefer. As a male, Kiefer has noticed the lasting effects of Riley’s death in his running community with members of the CCHS cross country team.

“The male and female experience differs because a few weeks ago (I) went on a run in the IM fields (with) a lot of the guys from the (CCHS) cross country team,” Kiefer said. “We were shirtless, we were playing music, we were having fun. We were just running through the woods and I don’t know of a girl on the cross country team that’s gone back or wanted to go back to the IM fields since. There were still flowers for (Riley). It’s fresh.” Not officially acknowledging Riley’s death is one reason Kiefer feels that CCHS needs to begin opening up the conversation of women’s safety.

“I feel like a lot of kids just don’t know (about what women experience), because for every son getting a lesson on, ‘Here’s how to do things right,’ There’s a mother giving her daughter a lesson on ‘Here’s how not to get attacked when you’re walking home.’ There’s a big divide,” Kiefer said.

This discussion surrounding prevention for harassment has been happening for decades, though, and women like CCHS physical education department teacher Kasi Carvell have sometimes resorted to more immediate solutions. While in college 35 years ago, Carvell was exposed to valuable self defense tips following the attack of a female in her college community.

“When I was in college, my coach had our team (learn) self defense. We had somebody come in, they wore (a) helmet and padding, and they literally attacked us to teach us what to do in that situation. I remember the tips from today, and it was 35 years ago,” Carvell said. “I think that (it) would be amazing to have (self defense classes) offered, whether it be before school, after school, or even during one of my classes.”

Clarke Central High School sophomore Zaara Bhuiyan poses in the CCHS breezeway on April 15. As a female student at CCHS, as well as resident in the Athens community, who has experienced sexual harassment in her everday life, Bhuiyan feels CCHS could be doing a better job at educating all gender orientations on respect. “Everybody has boundaries. (CCHS) needs to teach everybody, and men in general, that boundaries are a thing and they need to be kept in place, and it’s not just (women) who are pushing them,” Bhuiyan said. Photo by Izzy Duncan

In response to the trend of harassment in the community, Saulters and other members of the police department have been drafting proposals for a self defense class offered to community members by the end of 2024 or early 2025. These classes would be opportunities for anyone to practice getting out of a dangerous situation if they were ever attacked.

“We just brought an officer back that is certified in teaching different techniques for women to be safe and we’re looking at bringing that here and offering that in the community,” Saulters said. “But overall I don’t believe we should live in fear, we should live our lives and get out and enjoy, but also be aware of our surroundings and have a plan if something does go wrong.”

Regardless of the benefits, Elise Robinson, the UGA Institute for Women’s Studies Public Relations and Program Coordinator, feels that reactive measures would act as a bandaid on a larger systemic problem.

“As long as we have been living in a patriarchal system, which is basically for the history of western civilization, (women have been targeted). We live in a society where straight white men are sort of centered as the norm and so anybody who is not a straight white man is ‘less important,’” Robinson said. “The problem is so deeply embedded in the way that our culture is built, and it’s going to be this consistent until we can get to a point where society is more equitable in terms of gender.”

For Robinson, the taboo surrounding the discussion of women’s safety should be lifted and open conversation should be emphasized among students in order to raise awareness.

“Why are we aiming all our rape prevention stuff at the victims of violence, rather than at the perpetrators of violence? It needs to stop at the source, not at the victim,” Robinson said. “A lot of the daily stuff in helping women to feel safer is being able to talk about it (and women should be) able to say things like, ‘I don’t feel safe going somewhere by myself alone at night in Athens.’”

At CCHS, Crumpton hopes to bring these conversations to the classroom to educate students of all gender orientations, so the following generations can work towards solutions surrounding the dangers of sexual targeting.

“We’ve got to stop framing it as a women’s issue and reframe it. It’s not just violence against women. It’s violence by men,” Crumpton said. “There are obviously exceptions, but women’s safety has got to be a men’s issue. I think right now it’s still seen as a women’s issue, which is a problem.”

However, in the face of these systemic issues, Crumpton also recognizes how undoing the centuries of disparities and protecting females from further violence is not an easy issue to solve.

“I have questions about how to (raise awareness about this violence) in a way that is meaningful and listened to,” Crumpton said. “We’re talking about centuries and decades worth of violence against women, you can’t just fix that.”

More from Janie Ripps

Package by Jesse Dantzler