When we talk about prostitution we often do not talk enough about dissociation. How does dissociation affect people in and after they escape prostitution? When women and girls in prostitution have to dissociate their feelings away, they always dissociate more and more of their whole self away – until their self is gone.
If the brain has constantly trained this mechanism of “I-go-away-from-this-moment-here,” then the dissociation can start to work automatically. Sometimes it does not stop after the women exit prostitution. It did not stop when Sandra Norak exited prostitution.
In this talk, Sandra Norak addressed the issues people face when attempting to connect with themselves after they have lost themselves and how we can support the healing journeys of prostituted women to overcome dissociation and trauma.