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, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

, teacher and

call girl A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a 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 an escort agency.< ...

Biography

Born in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, 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 a ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, 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 ...

, 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

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

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

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

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 The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...

, 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 capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, 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