A new zest for life

A victim of bullying fights her way back to life

As a child, the 39-year-old was bullied and hurt.(Bild: Herkul Kroska)

Suicidal thoughts, scratching against the pain: Anita Sinko Benke's childhood was anything but easy. With her love of martial arts, she regained her zest for life. 

They beat me with cushions, I was abused and branded with cigarettes." It's a time that the 39-year-old mom doesn't like to think back on. However, she speaks openly to the "Krone" about the bullying attacks she suffered as a child.

"I was always the new girl"
"I was six years old, we moved around a lot, so I was always the new girl, never accepted by my schoolmates, always teased," says Anita Sinko Benke, who runs a tattoo studio in the Carinthian capital.

I never understood why exactly I was attacked. Today I know it had nothing to do with me as a person.

Anita Sinko Benke

It was a vicious circle from which the now entrepreneur believed she could no longer escape. She began to self-harm - to scratch herself. "I often had suicidal thoughts, I felt worthless, out of place. My life felt so pointless," recalls Sinko Benke. For years, girls and boys attacked her - until one day she discovered her love of martial arts.

With her love of martial arts, she regained her zest for life.(Bild: zVg)

Little by little, she was able to defend herself
"When I was ten, my parents signed me up for a self-defense course in kickboxing," the Carinthian Slovenian begins with a smile. "That was my salvation." Little by little, she was able to defend herself and become mentally stronger. "I finally found my hobby here, took part in competitions and made it to world champion in my weight class," says the tattoo artist, who dreams of opening her own self-defense studio.

 "I want to protect people - especially women - from what happened to me. I want to give them strength, teach them how to defend themselves." What does the 39-year-old feel today when she thinks about her childhood? "I'm not angry with these people, I've learned to accept and forgive. That's part of my life, that's what defines me today!"