I've often thought of this if the current male narrative of protecting women is some sort of evolutionary vestigial for mating. Of course, we all know that there are a lot of men out there that don't actually protect women, they use it as an excuse. In fact, they use that excuse to subjugate women further and force them into sex, sometimes under a thin guise of consent.

I do believe that having an emotional/intimate connection with a sexual partner makes things sweeter but as you wrote, safety is the key because of the vulnerability of sex itself for women.