Amanda Hailes worked as a street-based sex worker in Hull at the time that Gary Allen killed Samantha Class, who also worked in the industry.
Now, Amanda is an advocate who spends her time campaigning for safer conditions and greater rights for sex workers across the country.
In 1997, 29-year-old mum Samantha was strangled by Allen and disposed of in the river before being found on the banks of the Humber Estuary.
During the trial that followed, Allen was acquitted. He went on to murder Alena Grlakova, who also worked in the sex industry, in 2019.
Chasing a Killer: Gary Allen is a Prime Video series that recalls the two cases, including the 2021 re-trial which attempted to bring Allen to justice for Samantha’s murder.
Metro spoke with former sex worker Amanda, who appears in the two-part documentary – she knew of Samantha, and said that period was ‘absolutely terrifying’.
‘It was quite emotional at the time. You know, with it being one of our peers, somebody that worked the street as we did. And because Gary Allen hadn’t been arrested for a while, we thought somebody was targeting us.’
After searching for a year, police found Allen and charged him with the murder of Samantha. In the meantime two other sex workers had died, causing grave concern for the community.
Amanda said they ‘continued working the streets, even though it was such a risk.’
‘It was really difficult at that time, just trying to survive it.’
Painting a picture of life in Hull 30 years ago, Amanda told us: ‘The drug, epidemic hit the city really hard.
‘And a lot of women began sex work, including myself.
‘So, it was incredibly busy on the streets in the red light district. We were desperate, trying to put food on the table, support our families, and supporting our addictions as well.’
Amanda described sex work as ‘a cash business.’
Comparing it to other illicit ways of making money, she explained: ‘Drug dealing is incredibly difficult. Shoplifting? You get caught constantly.’
But she claims: ‘It’s not until you enter sex work that you realise it’s far from easy. Physically and emotionally, it’s soul destroying.’
Amanda was in a house a couple doors down from where Samantha lived when she found out about her death.
‘I was waiting to score, and I was sat with another girl who worked the streets. We found out because the police arrived to search her house. It was absolutely shocking.’
She recalls Samantha: ‘She was friendly, she was outgoing, just a really nice girl from what I can remember.’
Now, 29 years later, Amanda focuses her energy on advocacy and works with local services to help them better understand the complexities facing sex workers.
She serves as an important part of the documentary, speaking to the lived experiences of the women who feared for their lives while trying to earn money.
Speaking about her contribution to the series, Amanda said: ‘My role is to try and shatter the stigma, give a different perspective, insight, and truth because we’re perceived in films and media and often in newspapers, as if it’s a life choice, when in fact it isn’t, it is the final desperate act.’
She went on to say: ‘I think that sex workers are misunderstood. We’re often seen in films as the tart with a heart or victim number one, two, or three.’
But this isn’t how Amanda wants women like Samantha and Alena to be perceived.
Amanda urges people to remember them ‘as women, as mothers, as daughters, as grandchildren. We need to remember them for who they were, not what they were.’
This removal of the distinction between us and them, is something Amanda is keen to make clear.
What support is there for sex workers in the UK?
The following organisations provide support for sex workers in the UK:
- Beyond the Streets works to raise awareness of the sex industry and help women take practical steps that lead to a route out of exploitation.
- National Ugly Mugs works to end all forms of violence against sex workers.
- Streetlight UK is a frontline service helping women find pathways out of prostitution and violence.
- SWARM is a collective of sex workers who advocate for the rights of everyone who sells sexual services.
- Nia offers non-judgemental support across parts of London to women and girls involved in prostitution, and specialises in providing refuge for those with problematic substance use.
‘I think abusers like Gary Allen target sex workers because we’re easy, right? We get in the cars, we drive to a dark area.
‘But we’ve got to remember sex workers are women. So it’s not just: “They’re preying on sex workers”. They’re preying on women. And that needs to be understood.
‘If they’re a danger to sex workers, they’re a danger to all women.’
Chasing a Killer: Gary Allen is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
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