Interview with Sarah Bora and Nina Meinke
The “cosnova says NO - together against violence against women” initiative will be supported by two well-known personalities in 2024: Sarah Bora is once again part of the campaign. In addition, cosnova was able to win over Nina Meinke.
-
Sarah Bora is a musician, entrepreneur, co-founder of #dienächste and a former victim of domestic violence herself. She vehemently advocates for more women's rights and gives victims a voice through her own story. It is important to her that we as a society stop treating violence against women as a taboo subject.
Sarah Bora, musician, entrepreneur
-
Nina Meinke is a professional boxer and reigning featherweight world champion. The Berlin native has been boxing for 20 years now, which has made her more self-confident as she goes through life. As she has been competing in a male-dominated sport for years, equality is very important to her. She wants to encourage those affected by violence and show them that they are not alone.
Nina Meinke, Profiboxerin
The two women talk about what prompted them to become part of the campaign, where they believe prevention of violence against women should start and how we as a society can deal with this issue.
Why is it important to both of you personally to be part of the “cosnova says NO” initiative?
Sarah Bora: It is particularly important to me to be part of “cosnova says NO” because I myself have been a victim of domestic violence for almost ten years. I try to use my voice and personal experience to reach as many women as possible, at best to protect them from violence through education - for example, by learning to recognize warning signs early on - or to show them a way out of the spiral of violence.
Nina Meinke: It's very important for me to be involved in the initiative because violence against women needs to be addressed even more. People still often don't realize when women experience violence. I want them to be helped to overcome their shame and to be invited to talk about it openly.
Nina, did you have any female role models who inspired you along the way? What did you learn from them?
Nina Meinke: My great female role model is my grandma Olga. She is 92 years old and taught me early on: “Girl, stand on your own two feet, never be dependent on anyone.” And that's exactly what she shows us. She is the strongest woman I know, apart from my mother. She has had a hard life and yet she is a person who goes through life in a positive way. I can take a lot from her for my life.
Sarah, what are the most important steps that both individuals and organizations/companies can take to prevent violence against women?
Sarah Bora: Firstly, we need to change something in the social discourse, which means, for example, not always looking at women first along the lines of: what do women have to do to prevent this from happening to them? Instead, we need to focus on the perpetrators - and look at how we can take preventative action. Many companies are already involved, such as cosnova. However, we have to get this topic to become even more prevalent in business and everyday life and break through the taboo and cliché thinking.
Nina, what role does self-confidence and self-defense play in women's lives? And how can we empower women to better recognize and avoid potential dangers?
Nina Meinke: I think that women should first of all deal with the situation that violence can be perpetrated against them at home or on the street. By taking a self-defense course, women may also be able to lose some of their fear. In my experience, boxing or other martial arts can give women a lot of self-confidence. Not only because they learn self-defense techniques, among other things, but also because they improve their body awareness and body tension, which can act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators.
What are the biggest challenges women face in terms of violence prevention and how can social change address these challenges?
Sarah Bora: Domestic violence is not a private matter, it concerns each and every one of us. Every individual can do something about it. We should start with the little ones. That's why prevention is the key to stopping violence. We have to make sure that boys don't become potential perpetrators and girls don't become potential victims.
Nina Meinke: I think the most important thing is that society doesn't look the other way. And unfortunately that is often still the case. We need to talk openly about violence against women. It shouldn't be a taboo subject. There are certainly often cases where people know something but don't dare to take action, so the woman is left alone in her situation. If the victims get the feeling that they are not alone, then it is also easier to turn to the outside world for help.
Sarah, what is your personal wish or vision for the future when it comes to preventing violence against women?
Sarah Bora: As a former victim, I personally wish that the topic would be de-tabooed and that it wouldn't always be about the questions: What can a woman do? What was she wearing? How can she behave differently? Instead, we should also focus on working with perpetrators and prevention. And I also think it's very important that we think about how we deal with such issues in our language, whether in films, in advertising or in the entertainment sector as a whole, as well as how we name things in the news, for example, so that it's really clear what is done to women.
