“In Her Own Words… Interview with a London Call Girl” which is the transcription of a video interview Ruth Jacobs undertook with a London call girl in the late 1990s for her research on prostitution. The woman she interviewed, Q, was a wonderful person who had a sad and painful life, with childhood sexual abuse and then being pimped on the streets from the age of fifteen. From making this publication available Ruth hopes to change the stigma some of society has against prostitutes and prostitution, which she believes is mainly through lack of knowledge. She wants the general public to be made aware of at least some of the statistics, such as that 75% of prostitutes have been sexually and physically abused as children, 70% have experienced multiple rapes, and 67% meet the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder, which is a major cause of suicide.
1. What inspired this book?
The short book, In Her Own Words… Interview with a London Call Girl, was part of my research into prostitution in the late 1990s. I undertook a dissertation on prostitution and as I already knew women who were working as call girls in London, it was ideal for obtaining firsthand accounts, which are the most relevant and important when researching a topic such as this. When I decided to publish it, as the woman I interviewed, referred to as Q, is no longer alive, I felt it only right to donate the royalties to a charity that helps women exit prostitution.
2. Can you tell us about the ‘Soul Destruction’ series?
There are two series: Soul Destruction and Soul Destruction Diary. All the novels in both series will show the dark world and the harsh reality of life as a call girl.
The Soul Destruction series follows Shelley Hansard, who in the first novel is a heroin addicted, crack psychotic, London call girl when she gets the opportunity to take revenge on a client who raped her. The book will be published in due course by Caffeine Nights.
The Soul Destruction Diary series is a spin-off from Soul Destruction, and is written in the voice of Nicole O’Connell, Shelley’s closest friend in the first book. The first story follows Nicole as she travels to Sydney, Australia, in the hope of breaking her heroin habit. That book is available to read on my website www.soul-destruction.com.
3. How do you think prostitution is truly viewed in society today?
I think prostitution, or at least women who work as prostitutes are very much misunderstood. They are seen as fallen women and are judged. This is absolutely not the case and these women do not deserve to be judged or looked down on. Research shows that 75% of women working in prostitution have been sexually and physically abused as children, 70% have experienced multiple rapes, and 67% meet the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder. 95% have issues with problematic drug use. Research also shows that 9 out of 10 women working as prostitutes would like to exit if they could.
4. How can we change the stigma that is attached to girls and women who are prostitutes?
Girls who work as prostitutes are children who are being raped by rapists when a so-called client has sex with them. Some of these girls are groomed by pimps, who are of course paedophiles as they are forcing underage girls to work as prostitutes and most often have sex with them as part of the grooming process and at first regularly pretend to be their boyfriend. There are also girls and women who are trafficked into prostitution, which is similar to the same force and control used by pimps.For women who work as prostitutes, it is important they are understood. What might seem like a ‘free choice’ to them, and look like a ‘free choice’ to outsiders, is often “a choice made by a mind damaged by childhood abuse” – quoted from XLondonCallGirl http://xlondoncallgirl.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/prostitution-survey_20.html. There are also cases where women see no other option than to work in prostitution in order to feed themselves and/or their children. Being aware of the statistics mentioned in the last answer, I hope will go some way to changing the stigma some of society has against women in work in prostitution and provide the public with a better understanding of who these women really are.
5. Do you think the media glamorises it?
The media glamorises life as a call girl with books and films such as Pretty Woman and Belle de Jour. All the women I have known who have worked as call girls have still been raped and beaten by clients, though not as often as women who work on the streets. Also it is important to remember the act of having sex for money is the same and equally damaging to the woman whether it is for a few hundred or a thousand pounds in a top London hotel, or for ten pounds in the back of a car or down an alley.
6. Why do you think prostitution is STILL so prevalent in today’s society?
I think the simple answer is that men want sex and they are willing to pay for it. The women who work as prostitutes are often deemed by the public and their clients as subhuman, this is so wrong and utterly disgusting. They are the same as all other women and should be treated with the same respect and consideration.
7. Are all prostitutes ‘victims’ or can they be very savvy business women?
I don’t like the term victim, but of course many women who work in prostitution are victims of rape. Most are also victims of childhood abuse and many have been in care. There are some that say they are savvy business women. I know from Q and XLondonCallGirl as well as others, that at the time they were working as call girls they thought they were savvy business women. When you read Q’s interview, you will see she had to create a false self with a false set of beliefs to remain and survive in her life. XLondonCallGirl now realises she was not a savvy business woman as she thought and after 13 years out of prostitution is still paying the price for that life now, in terms of posttraumatic stress disorder, the inability to have healthy relationships etc. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but of course, it can only be gained after the event.
8. Proceeds from the book will be given to ‘Beyond The Streets’ Charity, can you tell me a little bit more about them?
I chose Beyond the Streets to donate all the royalties to from In Her Own Words… Interview with a London Call Girl. They help women exit prostitution – women who want to exit. The reason I chose them is because they work with a great number of similar charities and projects right across the UK.
9. Will it be published anywhere else apart from Kindle?
Currently, In Her Own Words… Interview with a London Call Girl is only available on Kindle. Later, I may decide to publish it elsewhere, but for the moment, I think Kindle is right for it. It is only a short publication, about six pages on a Kindle. Therefore, producing a paperback copy is probably not appropriate. In addition, there are now free Kindle reading devices that can be downloaded for all types of smart phones, PCs and Macs, so most people are able to access it via Kindle.
10. What would you like people to take away from reading this book, and what do you hope to achieve?
I hope to change the stigma a large section of society has against women in prostitution. I want people to have a better understanding of who these women are, the kind of childhood abuse most have suffered, and the kind of abuse many continue to suffer. By reading Q’s story and the statistics on women in prostitution, I would hope that people are less likely to judge and look down on women who work as prostitutes. I hope they gain an understanding of how working as a prostitute affects a woman psychologically, emotionally and socially.
In Her Own Words… Interview with a London Call Girl is available to download from Amazon UK at http://amzn.to/P992RY for 77p and from Amazon US at http://amzn.to/Qo3SZD for 99c. It is also available worldwide. All royalties are being donated to Beyond the Streets, a charity helping women exit prostitution.
The Soul Destruction website is at www.soul-destruction.com
Ruth Jacobs on Twitter http://twitter.com/RuthFJacobs
Ruth Jacobs on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/rujacobs
Soul Destruction on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/SoulDestructionSeries
Soul Destruction on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/RuthFJacobs/videos
