(5 minutes read time)
“You’re lucky women want equality and not revenge,” is often attributed to Kimberly Jones, a writer and activist. It was part of a response to the tragic murder of twins Samyia and Samayah Jones. The quote was intended to emphasise that women seek fairness and equal rights, not retribution, despite the harm they face.
Waking Up: The Truth About Safety, Equality, and the Stories Women Were Told
There’s a quiet revolution stirring—a collective awakening among women. One by one, in living rooms, therapy rooms, and conversations whispered between friends, women are realising a deep, unspoken truth: they have never truly felt safe.
Not in their homes. Not in their streets or workplaces. Not even in their own bodies.
For generations, women have been taught—often by their own mothers—how to navigate a world not built for them. They’ve been shown how to please a man, how to keep a man, how to get one in the first place. Because for so long, a man meant security. Not necessarily love, not necessarily joy, but survival.
Men decide, men have power and men protect men
Why? Because the laws were written by men. The systems of power—political, financial, legal—were built by and for men. And when those laws were broken, often by men, it was other men who enforced them—men in uniforms, men in wigs and robes, men in boardrooms. Crimes committed against women were ignored, minimised, or silenced.
Responsibility and victim blaming
The protection women needed was rarely there. Instead, the onus was always on them: Don’t wear that. Don’t go there. Don’t speak up. Women were public property. Commented on and criticised, blamed for their own abuse by men and both men and women went along with this world.
It’s no wonder women were taught to seek safety in men. The world didn’t offer many other options.
Times are changing
The veil is lifting. Around the globe, women are naming the discomfort they’ve lived with all their lives—the subtle fear, the constant adjusting, the deep programming to make themselves small, quiet, likeable. And they are saying: enough.
It’s not revenge
This awakening is not about domination. Women don’t want to take over. They don’t want to flip the power imbalance and become the oppressors. What women want is simple and profound:
Equality. Respect. Safety.
And this shift doesn’t have to be a threat. In fact, men can play a powerful role in it—not by resisting or retreating into defensiveness, but by embracing the possibilities of equality. A world where women feel safe is a world where everyone thrives. Where connection deepens. Where power is shared, not hoarded. Where love is based on mutual respect, not dependency or fear.
It starts with mothers
The stories we pass down matter. We need mothers who unlearn what they were taught about safety and self-worth. Mothers who raise their children—of all genders—to honour boundaries, question power structures, and build relationships rooted in respect and equality.
Control not truth
A safer world won’t come from fear or control. It will come from truth. From unlearning. From brave conversations. From women standing tall and men walking beside them, not in front.
The world is waking up. And it’s time we all did.
How counselling can help
Together we form a therapeutic relationship. It is therapeutic because we are both coming together with a goal in mind, to validate you, that what happened was wrong. It was neglect or abuse for example, and that it should not have happened. For once in your life you are not alone with it any more. For once in your life you are believed. You can reduce or eliminate addictions, have healthy relationships with yourself, your body, food, with others and the world. You can finally have a life you want, make choices, make hard decisions about your parents, your family, the people who made mistakes and were not there for you when you needed them most.
Are you ready to talk?
I offer a low-cost confidential service. I offer space to speak, find your voice, be really heard and validated. I am a trained professional counsellor who specialises in anxiety and trauma. Make an appointment to meet me and tell me what you want from counselling. See if you feel comfortable. The first session is over Zoom for both of our safety and then you can do sessions over Zoom from your own home or in person in mine, in my safe, comfortable therapy room.
Book your appointment today
Click here and book a free initial consultation with me today. Read what people are saying about working with me in counselling here. I hold a private, confidential space for you. I’m looking forward to meeting you and hearing you very soon. Best wishes, Karen.
Disclaimer: I am a UK qualified person centred counsellor specialising in anxiety and trauma within the context of counselling. I write from my experiences and from my client work in counselling. My work is dependent on the therapeutic relationship and the meeting of two minds. It is a humbling experience and that is all part of the healing process that I witness every day. It is the best job in the world. This is not an emergency service. If you need to speak to someone urgently outside of my sessions, please call the Samaritans on 116 123 (24/7 confidential helpline in the UK).