Monica. Epstein. Trump. Weinstein? What will it take for women to use our power?

In an interview, Monica Lewinsky said that the tide finally turned for her when a younger generation (GenZ) looked at what happened between her and Bill Clinton and asked the obvious question. “How is it possible that the person with the least amount of power had the largest consequences for the affair that they had?” That question unlocked the whole thing. Power. Consequence. Who pays. Who walks.

She now is a respected pundit and women’s advocate. Only took 25 years.

And when I look at Jeffrey Epstein, we are living the exact same story again.

Shockingly. Or maybe not. And yes, it again includes Bill Clinton. All these men who were provided girls by Jeffrey Epstein are moving through the world with zero consequence. Their reputations intact. Their public lives protected by very good public relations people. While the girls, the survivors, are still trying to find some semblance of closure, usually at the expense of their privacy, their reputations, and their peace.

We have to ask how that is possible? Again. We have to ask why the people with the least power end up paying the most. Again.

What will change the trajectory?

Women.

Women of the world deciding that enough is enough. Women refusing to let these men walk into rooms without consequence. Women refusing to treat them as if their presence is normal or deserved. Women asking the question every time they show up. What was your role? What did you do? Why did you think you could? Even if they lie, get them on the record. Make the question the air they breathe. Do not invite them. Do not platform them. Do not offer them the cover of polite silence.

I am not a fan of the royal family. Once I realized that no blood, let alone the Windsors, is different than mine. Better or worse, we are all the same. The idea of bowing lost all meaning. I bow to no one. But I will give King Charles credit for one thing. He put consequences on his brother. Maybe to protect his own future. Maybe to protect Prince William. But he did it. He made it clear that even in a centuries old institution built on entitlement there are lines. And crossing them costs something.

In my worst moment, I think Charles did it only because he was afraid of what would happen if he didn’t. That he is aware that the people of the nation of England hold his power in their hands. That he couldn’t take that chance.

Our question, here on the other side of the pond, to be asked by every woman who has a soul, is why isn’t Bill Clinton afraid? Why are we not a group, a collaborative circle to which they need to consider? Why is the old boy’s club still in business?

So how are we here again? How is it possible that after the Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton scandal we are living a repeat performance? Me too? Where did we go? How are we not drawing a straight line from then to now? How do we not see what it reveals?

And the Epstein scandal. Let’s stop pretending it is the same category. It is not. We are talking rape. We are talking abuse of underage girls. We are talking organized exploitation. It is in no way comparable to what Bill Clinton did with Monica Lewinsky. But our reaction to it is. That is the problem. The reaction is the same. As if this is another messy sex story. As if men being men explains the ruin they left behind.

Our reaction should be ten times more fierce. Ten times more urgent. These men should be in prison. These men should be exiled from polite society. These men should not be allowed to glide through the world untouched while the survivors still carry the weight of what was done to them.

So what will it take?

It will take women deciding that silence is no longer an option. That social permission is no longer granted. That power is no longer protected by the softness of our accommodation. That reputations are no longer shielded by our desire to keep the peace. It will take women who understand that nothing changes until we stop being the ones who hold the consequences while men walk away.

Tell me where to stand. I will show up.