It has been revealed that the city of Berlin is offering a pro-prostitution children's book on its official website. Rosi sucht Geld (Rosi needs money) follows a young student from Syria and her friend as they learn more about the life of a Bulgarian escort as she works Kurfürstenstraße in the city's notorious red-light district.
The sexually explicit text written by Anita Staudt is accompanied by illustrations drawn by elementary school students who live in the area, and has been marketed as a "helpful tool" for children and parents who encounter prostitution on a daily basis. The book was uncovered by reporters at Reduxx.
A link to the book from the government's prostitution information page has been removed. The original page featured a long statement from Equal Opportunities Officer Kerstin Drobick in which she explains that it had been "courageously" created to teach children about the issue at a time where "education on sexual issues is still a source of shame and fear in many families."
In the book, Staudt goes into detail about the day to day reality of life as a prostitute, and portrays the act of trading sex for money as one would any other profession.
"Their clothes are not enough. Their breasts and legs must freeze in winter,” the young main character says. "Today we decided to finally ask Rosi what she does with men. Actually, we already know. They give her money and want to make love."
The main character's friend goes on to say Rosi and her clients are "different from mom and dad," noting that, "Mom makes love to dad, but Rosi's men don’t make love, they make sex like on TV."
At the end of the book, an author's note quotes many children who live in the area around Kurfürstenstraße, many of whom say they are unhappy with the fact that prostitution is occurring in their neighborhood.
The sexually explicit text written by Anita Staudt is accompanied by illustrations drawn by elementary school students who live in the area, and has been marketed as a "helpful tool" for children and parents who encounter prostitution on a daily basis. The book was uncovered by reporters at Reduxx.
A link to the book from the government's prostitution information page has been removed. The original page featured a long statement from Equal Opportunities Officer Kerstin Drobick in which she explains that it had been "courageously" created to teach children about the issue at a time where "education on sexual issues is still a source of shame and fear in many families."
In the book, Staudt goes into detail about the day to day reality of life as a prostitute, and portrays the act of trading sex for money as one would any other profession.
"Their clothes are not enough. Their breasts and legs must freeze in winter,” the young main character says. "Today we decided to finally ask Rosi what she does with men. Actually, we already know. They give her money and want to make love."
Rosi explains to the children that, "Most of the time it’s like this: Men want to put their penis in my vagina. A few times in and a few times out – and you're done. There's nothing more to it than that."
The main character's friend goes on to say Rosi and her clients are "different from mom and dad," noting that, "Mom makes love to dad, but Rosi's men don’t make love, they make sex like on TV."
At the end of the book, an author's note quotes many children who live in the area around Kurfürstenstraße, many of whom say they are unhappy with the fact that prostitution is occurring in their neighborhood.
Rosi Needs Money, children's book on prostitution by Libby Emmons on Scribd
