Aware And Prepared
Hello! This is the Aware and Prepared podcast. I'm your host, Mandi Pratt, a trained domestic violence advocate. I teach women and vulnerable populations how to be street smart. I'm a mom with a gnarly backstory from almost two decades ago. The FBI showed up at my door one day to alert me that my abusive ex had become wanted for multiple bank robberies. Our story was in the news (a few times). I was tired of feeling vulnerable and learned how to keep myself and my son safer. I wish when I was a young woman I'd known about red flags to watch for in relationships, and had learned how to be street smart. This podcast is for 15-year-old me and is meant for families and community groups to listen to together. After all, women's safety is a community issue. I'll share with you stories like mine and interview detectives, psychologists and many other experts to NOT only hear their jaw-dropping stories, but also what we learn from them to prevent harm for our every youth and grown up listening. I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I did - scared, vulnerable and needing decades of counseling and healthcare to heal. I want you to feel safer with less fear and more power!
You can find more from me at my website or my Instagram:
WEB: https://womenawareandprepared.com/podcast/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/womenawareandprepared/
Aware And Prepared
What Students Reflected on Victim Blaming and Boundaries
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We have to stop teaching only potential victims and start asking what we're doing to prevent harm from being caused at all. In this episode, Mandi Pratt returns from delivering her keynote "End Victim Blaming: Creating Safer Communities" at two college campuses, and the students' own words in their feedback after the keynote say it all. One student admitted they never learned how to respect boundaries. Another said it was the first time she heard it wasn't her fault for being a people pleaser. That's why this work matters.
Mandi makes the case that women's safety is a community issue, not an individual one. Listen in!
RESOURCES
- Last episode (sneak peek of my keynote)
- Bloom365 - Organization supporting both survivors and those who cause harm, addressing the full spectrum of relationship violence.
Connect with Mandi:
- Website: WomenAwareAndPrepared.com
- Take the Free Intuition Quiz WomenAwareAndPrepared.com/Quiz
- Instagram: @WomenAwareAndPrepared
- LinkedIn: Mandi Pratt
The primary purpose of the Women Aware and Prepared Podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute advice or services. Please use common sense for your own situation.
Hey, brave one. Welcome to the Aware and Prepared Podcast. I'm your host, Mandy Pratt, trauma-informed, resilient speaker, domestic violence victim advocate, and narcissistic abuse survivor. Here we keep it real with true crime stories and real world strategies to prevent emotional and physical harm. My guests and I share a mix of insight and survivor grit, all to help you feel safer, trust yourself more deeply. And live with greater peace and power. Let's trade fear for freedom and step into the peace that you deserve. Welcome back to the Aware and Prepared Podcast.
Last week I gave you a sneak peek of my keynote, and today I'm reporting back from the real thing, two colleges, two live audiences, and some feedback that genuinely moved me that I know you will find helpful as well. My goal for this short episode is simple. I want to show you that women's safety is a community issue and that the proof is in the voices of the students themselves.
So I spoke at two colleges with a keynote. End victim blaming, creating safer communities. And the core message was that our language shapes systems and social narratives that cause real harm. And I addressed both sides. Those who struggle to set boundaries because we're conditioned not to. And those. Who don't heed them.
So today I'm stating that we can't just teach young people to avoid becoming victims. We also have to ask, what are we doing to help young people not become those who cause harm or violence? So I'm gonna share with you this student feedback. Of course, names withheld, the first one just made my day, made my year pretty much, and they said I thought it was very relevant, as I believe I've crossed some boundaries when I was younger and was never really taught the proper way to approach boundaries and relationships. That right there. So important. Right.
And then from another student, it was very insightful as a young woman who is a people pleaser and scared of being a bother, that it's not my fault. I loved that. That was the one that I resonated with myself when I was younger. And then one last. Quote I wanted to share with you. It was very informative and helpful to know different resources that no one tells you about.
That is also part of my favorite thing that I do in each keynote or workshop that I give, is sharing these resources that nobody knows about and I shared in. Uh, the keynote for both colleges. One of my favorite resources is Bloom 365, and I'll drop that in the show notes, Bloom 360 five.org or on Instagram Bloom 365 because they help both victim and perpetrator. So they are addressing the whole spectrum, right? The whole realm. So. I wanted to share those with you today because. Those just made my year pretty much.
That was what I wanted to hit on was both sides, right? Talking about how we are so conditioned to not make waves right. To feel guilty if we need to set a boundary or if we say no. Right? And then also addressing. Those who need to be self-aware, like, oh my gosh, like I am actually the one who doesn't listen to people's boundaries. And maybe that's because I was conditioned, I never was taught, you know how to do this. And I was conditioned that you just do what you need to do.
And in the wrap up, um, this feedback reminded me of why this work matters. Change doesn't happen in a vacuum, it happens in a community. You know, we say things during April as sexual assault awareness month, no means no. Right? Well, why don't we dig in a little bit further and also talk about. These, talk about that conditioning and if something happens to you, it's not your fault. 'cause you were conditioned to not speak up for yourself. Right. So now we know what we know and then we take that and we do something about it.
And of course, if you want this conversation brought to your campus, your organization, or your community, invite me out I would love to support you in creating safer, healthier spaces. Remember, change doesn't happen. With not digging into the root of the issue.
So you can reach me now at the end of my show notes, you can scroll down and see where you can click to send me a message and you can send me a text or a voicemail and I will get that there. Or you can of course go to my website aware and prepare life and you can contact me through email i'll drop all of that into the show notes.
So speaking of community. I just wanna mention you're not gonna wanna miss what's coming. I have two expert guests joining me very soon, and we're diving into self-compassion and giving ourselves grace. So many good things that they have for us. So make sure that you're subscribed to the podcast if you haven't yet. So in. Your podcast platform that you're listening right now, you should be able to see like in the top right, maybe three little dots that you pull down, and then you can say follow the show thanks for being here on the Aware and Prepared Podcast. Remember, you are worthy of a safe and peaceful life. Talk to you next week.