In the heart of Hull, during a period shadowed by fear, Amanda Hailes navigated the dangerous world of street-based sex work. It was a time when a predator was stalking the streets, and the name Gary Allen would soon become synonymous with terror.
Samantha Class, a 29-year-old mother also working in the industry, was brutally strangled and her body discovered on the banks of the Humber Estuary in 1997. Allen was initially acquitted, a devastating blow that left a community reeling and vulnerable.
The uncertainty following Samantha’s death was paralyzing. Amanda recalls a pervasive sense of dread, a feeling that someone was actively hunting them. Despite the immense risk, women continued to work, driven by desperation and the need to survive.
Hull in the 1990s was gripped by a severe drug epidemic, pushing many women into sex work as a last resort. It was a world of constant struggle, a desperate attempt to provide for families and battle personal demons.
Sex work, Amanda explains, offered a grim practicality. Unlike the constant failures of shoplifting or the complexities of drug dealing, it provided immediate, albeit precarious, income. But she is adamant: it’s a path paved with emotional and physical devastation.
The news of Samantha’s murder reached Amanda while she was waiting for a client, just a few doors down from where the victim lived. The arrival of police searching a nearby house confirmed their worst fears – the unthinkable had happened.
Amanda remembers Samantha as a kind and vibrant woman, a friendly face in a harsh world. The loss resonated deeply, fueling a determination to fight for safer conditions and greater respect for those working in the sex industry.
Now, decades later, Amanda dedicates her life to advocacy, working with local services to challenge the stigmas and misconceptions surrounding sex work. She became a vital voice in the recent documentary examining Allen’s crimes.
Her contribution to the series is a powerful plea to shatter the stereotypes. Amanda insists that sex work isn’t a choice, but often a final, desperate act born of circumstance and necessity.
She challenges the media’s portrayal of sex workers as simply “victims” or “tarts with hearts,” urging people to remember them as individuals – mothers, daughters, and women with inherent worth.
Amanda’s message is stark: Allen didn’t just target sex workers, he targeted women. The vulnerability exploited in the sex industry exists on a spectrum, and the danger extends far beyond that world.
She believes abusers prey on perceived vulnerability, and recognizing this connection is crucial to protecting all women. The threat to sex workers, she argues, is a threat to society as a whole.
Amanda’s enduring hope is that Samantha and Alena, and all those lost to violence, will be remembered not for what they did, but for who they were – complex, deserving individuals whose lives were tragically cut short.
She strives to ensure that their stories serve as a potent reminder of the urgent need for empathy, understanding, and unwavering support for those navigating the most difficult of circumstances.
