We can always trust former First Lady Michelle Obama to speak up about important issues facing women—and to share some sound wisdom while doing so. She’s spoken out about the ways parents can better raise children so that when the kids reach adulthood, the men don’t feel so problematically entitled and the women feel more empowered. She’s enlightened us about the racism she faced during husband Barack Obama’s eight years as president. She has even pointed out the ridiculous double standard between her fashion choices and her Barack’s, pointing out that what she wore got scrutinized while her husband could wear the same tux to every single event.

This week, she spoke out about the issue that’s been in the news every single day lately: sexual misconduct. Michelle gave a speech in Hartford, Connecticut on Thursday where she addressed the slew of allegations that have made their way into the news recently. “I can’t tell you how sick it makes me, the more I see the uncovering of the truth that all us women know has been out there, that there is an ugliness there,” she told the crowd.

She went on to explain that in order for women to gain the strength to speak up for themselves, it’s going to take a lot of work. But it’s not all on women, either—men need to act as our allies: “I’m talking to the men out there, who cannot be innocent bystanders and complacent … watching this happen,” she said.

Michelle spoke of state of anxiety women constantly live in, too. “We live in a world … where young girls are literally in danger of some kind of mess, whether it’s what a man says to us, or how he looks at us, or an opportunity that is taken from us, or somebody who’s got our foot on our necks,” she said. “It is such a sad, common existence for women and girls in this country.”

As eloquently as you’d expect, Michelle also addressed the little ways that we can help make the word a better, more fair place for everyone. As it turns out, her golden rules aren’t terribly hard to follow: “Focus on what you can control. Be a good person every day. Vote. Read. Treat one another kindly. Follow the law. Don’t tweet nasty stuff.”

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