The episode also explores why so many women dream of leaving restrictive environments — not only for education or income, but for autonomy, mobility, and dignity — and highlights what actually makes women safer: functional systems, safe public transport, responsive policing, real consequences, and long-term cultural change.
Across societies, women are taught that safety comes with conditions: curfews, dress codes, restricted mobility, constant vigilance. After every high-profile assault, the response is familiar — limit women’s movement, not expand accountability.
In the Safety Trap, Unladylike examines what the data actually shows. Global and South Asian research confirms that restricting women does not reduce violence. Instead, it reduces reporting, limits opportunity, and shifts responsibility away from institutions and onto women’s bodies.
Drawing on evidence from the World Health Organization, UN Women, the World Bank, and regional studies from South Asia, this episode dismantles the myth that control equals protection. It shows why most violence comes from people women already know — and why curfews and confinement fail to address the real risk.
Unladylike — The Safety Trap asks a simple question: If women have followed the rules and violence hasn’t stopped, who were those rules really protecting?
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