What does it really mean to protect women? And who gets to decide when a woman's safety concerns are "serious enough" to matter? In this epis
What does it really mean to protect women? And who gets to decide when a woman’s safety concerns are “serious enough” to matter?
In this episode, Tonya GJ Prince reflects on her experience as a court advocate, where she witnessed women being denied protective orders because they were perceived as “strong.” The lesson was unmistakable: many women are expected to endure risk until they can prove they are in immediate danger.
Tonya challenges a culture that praises itself for inclusion while teaching men that they are entitled to be wherever women are—even when women express a need for boundaries, privacy, or safety. She argues that encouraging male entitlement to women’s spaces is not an act of protection, no matter how noble it is portrayed.
This conversation explores female vulnerability, the reality of male violence, and why women should not have to justify their need for safety before they are taken seriously. If a woman must first prove danger to you before you will respect her boundaries, you are not acting as her protector—you are asking her to bear the burden of risk.
This episode is a call to rethink what protection actually requires: listening to women, respecting their boundaries, and recognizing that prevention begins long before harm occurs.
What Women Are Still Waiting to Hear (podcast episode) – WE Survive Abuse