Sandra Norak

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sandra Norak (pseudonym) (* around 1989 ) is a German activist who campaigns for the abolition of prostitution and for the “ Nordic model for prostitution ”, that is, help for prostitutes to quit and punish suitors . Norak was a prostitute herself for six years after a man lured her into the red-light district using the loverboy method .

Childhood and youth

Norak grew up without a father. At the age of 17 she met a former Foreign Legionnaire 20 years her senior online . This got her through the loverboy scam to "buy" for him. It was only after six years (2008 to 2014) that she managed to get out of prostitution. According to Norak, there was an anonymous tip during this time and the police took her from her pimp's apartment . However, she describes that she was so hopeless and manipulated that she did not testify against her pimp there and came back to him.

Get out of prostitution

Norak's first step was to move out of her pimp's apartment. A brothel owner gave her a room in the basement of a club. Then she looked for employment opportunities outside of prostitution. She did an unpaid internship at the zoo and studied for her high school diploma while she continued to “buy”. After a while she got a mini job as a horse groom. In 2014 she was employed full-time in a riding facility, and it was thus possible for her to get out of prostitution completely. At the same time she graduated from high school and began studying law .

View on prostitution

Norak considers prostitution as sex work in Germany to be trivialized. She states that studies by trauma experts have shown that many prostitutes develop severe complex post-traumatic stress disorders . Many women who work in prostitution have, after testifying in childhood severe abuse experience and so dissociation developed what she was doing vulnerable to exploitation by pimps. That is why Norak is of the opinion that one cannot speak of “voluntariness” here either. In Norak's opinion, prostitution is not a normal job, but a business that criminals can earn a lot of money with and that degrades and demeans women.

Norak believes that current legislation in Germany makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to prosecute forced prostitution . The women who were forced into prostitution usually did not testify against their perpetrators because they were afraid or did not believe that if they testified they would be offered help and protection in order to really escape prostitution.

In an interview with Der Spiegel , Norak described her time as a prostitute as "soul murder". She describes how she suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder after quitting. Her body was numb, she felt dizzy, stuttered, and it was difficult for her to think clearly and in a structured manner. These symptoms are signs of dissociation, which often occurs in victims of severe trauma. Norak also reported that she suffered severe flashbacks and panic attacks after quitting .

activism

Norak is committed to ensuring that Germany also adopts the Nordic model for prostitution . The purchase of sexual services is made a criminal offense. However, prostitution itself is being decriminalized in order to make it easier for prostitutes to seek help. Furthermore, assistance for prostitutes to get out is offered and the population is thoroughly educated and informed about the bad sides of prostitution.

After her departure, Norak decided to study law alongside her work. In doing so, it pursues the goal of publicly clarifying the grievances in prostitution and influencing legislation on the subject in the long term. For example, she speaks as an expert on the subject in political debates such as before the Committee for Equality and Women on July 5, 2019 in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia and takes part in parliamentary events by members of the Bundestag.

Since March 2016 she has been writing a blog "My Life in Prostitution", in which she reports on her life in prostitution and her activism. The blog also discusses topics such as scientific findings from psychotraumatology with regard to prostitution and statements on current changes in legislation in the field of prostitution. Norak is a member of Sisters eV She has been supporting the association's #Rotlichtaus campaign since June 2017.

Norak gives lectures at schools to educate young people about the dangers of loverboys.

Appearances on television

  • March 9, 2018, BR Puls , The question: “Against prostitution - nobody is allowed to pay for sex | Can I pay for sex? "Episode 3/7, radio format (9:10 min.)
  • March 28, 2019, ZDF , file number XY… unsolved : “Loverboy scam! The cruel way on the grain ”. Presentation of the case of Sandra Norak at file number XY with subsequent discussion (36:55 min.)
  • May 17, 2019, SWR , Nachtcafé : "Human trafficking - the business of misery". Talk show on human trafficking with seven studio guests
  • November 22, 2019, ZDF and 3SAT Kulturzeit : "Sandra Norak on the loverboy scam" (6 min.)

Publications

In the documentary

  • 2017: Christian P. Stracke: "Bordell Deutschland" - Billionaire Prostitution , ZDF, nominated for the Prix ​​Europa 2018

Web links

  • Sandra Norak: Home. Sandra Norak's blog. In: mylifeinprostitution.wordpress.com.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Geneviève Hesse: It was soul murder. In: Spiegel. Der Spiegel, August 5, 2017, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Sandra Norak: Sandra Norak. In: facebook.com. facebook, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Lisa Harmann: Interview with dropout "Prostitution almost ruined me". In: Kölnische Rundschau. Kölnische Rundschau, August 25, 2017, accessed on January 5, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Courageous confession at "Aktenzeichen XY": Ex-prostitute moves millions of people. Nordbuzz, March 28, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Fatima Abbas: School in the morning, whore in the evening. Saarbrücker Zeitung, April 12, 2018, accessed on January 4, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Melissa Farley: Prostitution in Five Countries: Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. SAGE Science Collections, November 1, 1998, accessed January 6, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Melissa Farley: Prostitution and Trafficking in Nine Countries. Journal of Trauma Practice, October 15, 2008, accessed January 6, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Sandra Norak: Opinion 17/1676 on the submission 17/1796 in the context of the public hearing on the development of the so-called "loverboy method" to force prostitution in North Rhine-Westphalia . Pp. 13-14
  9. ↑ a b Lisa Harmann: Interview with dropout "Prostitution almost ruined me". In: https://www.ksta.de/ . Kölner Stadtanzeiger, August 25, 2017, accessed on December 20, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Anping Richter: Sandra Norak: An ex-prostitute accuses. https://www.tageblatt.de/ , November 26, 2019, accessed on December 20, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Sandra Norak: Opinion 17/1676 on the submission 17/1796 in the context of the public hearing on the development of the so-called “loverboy method” to force prostitution in North Rhine-Westphalia . Pp. 9-11
  12. ↑ a b Sandra Norak. In: lightup-movement.de. Lightup Movement, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Till-Reimer Stoldt: "Raped, traumatized, degraded". In: welt.de. July 28, 2019, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Meeting of the Committee for Equality and Women on July 5, 2019: “Development of the so-called“ Loverboy Method! ”To enforce prostitution in North Rhine-Westphalia” , submission 17/1796, minutes of the meeting
  15. ↑ Parliamentary evening - decriminalization, ban on buying sex, assistance with getting out. Sisters eV, January 5, 2019, accessed on January 1, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Patricia Hecht: "Nordic Model": Alliances for a sex purchase ban . In: taz . October 14, 2019, ISSN  0931-9085 ( taz.de [accessed January 1, 2020]).
  17. ↑ a b Sandra Norak: ABOUT ME. In: mylifeinprostitution.wordpress.com. Sandra Norak, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Against prostitution - Nobody is allowed to pay for sex | Can i pay for sex? Episode 3/7 on YouTube , March 9, 2018, accessed December 31, 2019.
  19. ↑ ZDF: Loverboy scam! The cruel way on the line - file number XY. In: youtube.com. ZDF, March 28, 2018, accessed on December 22, 2019 .
  20. ↑ “Night Café” on the subject of human trafficking. In: https://www.swr.de/ . SWR, May 17, 2019, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Sandra Norak on the loverboy scam. In: ZDF. ZDF, November 22, 2019, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Sandra Norak on the loverboy scam. In: 3 SAT. 3SAT, November 22, 2019, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Christian P. Stracke: "Bordell Germany" - Billion Business Prostitution , ZDF, 2017
  24. ↑ Festival Catalog , Prix Europa 2018
personal data
SURNAME Norak, Sandra
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German lawyer and activist for the abolition of prostitution
DATE OF BIRTH around 1989