Carla van Raay (born 1938) is an Australian author, counselor and former

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

, teacher and

call girl A call girl or female escort is a prostitute who (unlike a street prostitution, street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by ...

Biography

Born in

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Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, van Raay moved with her family to Australia in the 1950s. Her father obtained work as a gardener at a convent school in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, run by the Sisters,

Faithful Companions of Jesus The Faithful Companions of Jesus Sisters (FCJ Sisters, French: ''Fidèles compagnes de Jésus'') is a Christian religious institute of the Roman Catholic Church directly subject to the Pope. It was founded in Amiens in France in 1820 by Marie M ...

, founded in early 19th-century France. Through this employment, he was able to have her enrolled as a student at the school. As a child she suffered sexual abuse from her father, from ages 3 to 12. After graduation she joined the Sisters who ran the school as a nun. The order sent her the UK to train as a teacher. Once trained, she taught in

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. She felt isolated as a nun, and in 1969 she obtained permission from the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

to leave. After leaving the order, van Raay worked as a teacher in one of the biggest schools in Melbourne. Van Raay was soon married to a

Scotsman Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (o ...

, and they had a daughter. She later had an affair with a 19 year old and the marriage ended. She had a second daughter with another partner. Living in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, and With a young family to support, van Raay turned to prostitution in 1973. Initially she worked as an escort, as she had been naive about sex during her education. After 3 months, Once she had gained some experience, she set up her own massage service. Van Raay worked as a prostitute on and off for 18 years. by which time she was 52 years old. Her memoir, ''God's Callgirl'', documents her childhood and career as sex worker, ending with her decision to leave that occupation. She was 65 years old at the time of the book's publication and a grandmother. The book sold 500,000 copies and has been published in 7 countries. She later wrote a sequel documenting that part of her life titled ''Desire''. In 2016 she wrote ''Healing from Abuse: A Practical Spiritual Guide''. Van Raay now works as a counselor and healer for victims of sexual abuse.

Published works

* * * *

Short essays

* Rediscovering The Art Of Blessing * Insights Into Prostitution

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Raay, Carla 1938 births Living people Raay, Carla Raay, Carla Australian schoolteachers Former Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Australian female prostitutes Sexual abuse victim advocates Australian memoirists 20th-century Australian Roman Catholic nuns Australian women memoirists