'They’re human beings': Mother of alley attack victim wants sex workers protected

It's a sunny and humid afternoon in Hamilton. There are just a few clouds and a warm breeze.

Sitting in a wheelchair behind the Regional Rehabilitation Centre, the woman is thin, frail even.

Her fingernails are red and pink, but the polish is chipped. Her hair is set in a French braid, done by one of her nurses at the Wellington Street North facility.

The stitches have been removed and her face is mostly healed, aside from some discoloration and swelling. Most of her teeth were knocked out in the attack and more are expected to be taken out. She has a scar on her throat from a tracheotomy that helped her breathe.

I'm getting stronger all the time," said the woman, who cannot be named because of a publication ban. I'm slowly getting better."

The 46-year-old has come a long way since the early-morning hours of June 27.

A nightmare'

The woman, a sex worker, doesn't remember much about the attack - so much so that when police came to interview her last month, she couldn't help them with their investigation, said her mother.

So far, any information about the assault has come from Hamilton police investigators. Surveillance video from surrounding businesses in Barton Village has been key to the case, according to police.

The attack was in the area of Barton Street East and Emerald Street North - at the western edge of a quarter known for sex work.

Video shows a man - who is alleged to be Gbenga Obajuluwa, 24, of Hamilton - following the woman at a distance as she walked on Emerald.

The woman then stopped at the corner of Barton and Emerald, where a man approached her just before 3 a.m. They had a brief discussion in which police believe he arranged to be a client.

The woman then walked, with the man following, into a nearby alley.

Soon after, a witness in the area heard a woman screaming and saw a man running away, shirtless, on Barton, said police. The witness flagged down a police officer around 2:55 a.m.

The attack left the woman in critical condition. She suffered a broken jaw, a broken nose, three brain bleeds and needed many stitches. She was left unable to talk, use her arms or walk on her own.

The first few days after the attack were touch and go," said her mother, who rushed to the Hamilton General Hospital from her apartment in Woodstock after getting word of the attack.

It was the kind of call she had fretted about getting for three decades, ever since her daughter left home when she was just a teenager.

When the mother arrived at the hospital, she found her eldest daughter in the ICU - but she was almost unrecognizable.

Her face was swollen, black and blue, and covered in stitches under her left eye and chin. Some of her bottom teeth were held in by braces. She was put in a medically induced coma to recover from surgery and to keep her from going into shock.

It was a nightmare," said the mother, who has been by her daughter's side ever since. I've never lived through something more scary in my life."

Always free-spirited'

The woman was born and raised in the old north end of Saint John, N.B. - an area of the city marked by low-income and high poverty rates.

The mother had her daughter when she was just a teenager - the first of three children. She was almost always a single mother. The four of them often lived in social housing or crummy apartment buildings," said the mother.

Her daughter's childhood was marked by sexual abuse and domestic violence.

Even still, the woman was an imaginative girl, who loved to dance, told colourful stories and was close with her younger brother.

She also had a knack for running away, said her mother.

When the woman was just nine years old, she and a friend went missing for hours before they were found by a taxi driver. Years later, as a preteen, she and a friend managed to make their way to the Saint John Airport and get on a flight to Prince Edward Island.

Eventually, she started to hitchhike.

She was always free-spirited," said the mother. There was no holding that girl down no matter where you put her or what you did. She always managed to escape or find her own way."

When the woman was around 14 years old, the mother moved her family to Ontario to be closer to her sister and mom, who both lived in Toronto. They initially landed there, and then made their way to Woodstock.

But two years later, life changed dramatically for the woman.

The mother said her teenage daughter met the so-called boy next door" who introduced her to crack - and not long after, she began to struggle with addiction.

She wanted more, but it took money," said the mother. So, she took off, went to London (Ontario) and started dancing there."

Dancing - or working in strip clubs - took the woman across the country. The mother would get a call from her daughter and she'd be in Montreal, Squamish, B.C., or Vancouver. She also began working in the sex trade.

But not all sex workers struggle with addiction.

Sex work can stem from an upbringing marked by poverty, lack of education, abuse and experience in the child welfare system, according to the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. Some sex workers fall into the trade as a means of survival.

It can also be a conscious decision or informed choice, especially for those who take part in pornography and private escort services, according to the organization.

The mother said she spent countless nights awake, worrying about her daughter as she knew she was at greater risk of violence.

The attack in Hamilton wasn't the first. She had been sexually assaulted when she lived in London, Ont.

I probably spent the last 30 years always worried I would get that phone call or that knock at the door," said the mother. Well, I finally got that phone call."

Life in Hamilton

The woman made her way to Hamilton around two decades ago. Once here, she started dancing at several clubs, including Piccadilly House and Hanrahan's Hotel - both of which have since closed.

Life in the city hasn't been easy for her daughter, said the mother.

The woman spent several years at St. Joseph's Hospital on the west Mountain being treated for both her addiction and mental-health issues - she lives with schizoaffective disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

The mother said once her daughter was sober and stable, she managed to get her own, low-income apartment on the Mountain. But she relapsed not long after and landed back in the hospital.

Since then, the woman has stayed in residential care facilities across the city, unable to live on her own as she struggled with addiction. She also relies on government assistance.

At the time of the attack, the woman was in a facility in the Durand neighbourhood, where she had been for the past few years.

The home doesn't have a very good reputation," according to her mother. She said it's infested with bedbugs and lice, and the food is poor.

She's very well-loved there," said the mother. But I'm not happy with her living there."

After paying her rent each month, the mother said her daughter is left with very little to spend on her own needs such as shampoo, personal products and cigarettes.

It's left her looking to sex work, the mother added.

That's what drives her onto the streets," said the mother, pointing to the dire need for an increase in social assistance rates. She's broke all the time and she can't stand it."

Historical attacks in Hamilton

Many instances of violence against sex workers go unreported due to stigmatization of the trade and a distrust of police, according to advocates.

Some cases do get reported.

• Helen Gillings, a 19-year-old Indigenous woman who worked in the sex trade, was murdered in the early-morning hours of Feb. 16, 1995. Her body was found stuffed under an overturned sofa in an alleyway near King Street East and Emerald Street North. Her case remains unsolved.

• A Hamilton woman - who has never been named by the media - was nearly decapitated inside of a Sanford Avenue North apartment on July 4, 2012. Matthew Johnston was initially charged with attempted murder but pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.

• Jiali Zhang, a 40-year-old woman who worked as an escort, was killed by Dalibor Klaric inside of his Stoney Creek apartment on Nov. 12, 2013. He confessed to the murder just hours after he brutally beat her to death.

• Tammy Le, a 25-year-old Markham woman who worked as an escort, was found dead inside of a room at the Admiral Inn on Dundurn Street North in the early-morning hours of Jan. 23, 2016. Terry Moore, the man suspected of killing her, died by suicide behind a Westdale school.

A long road to recovery

As the woman recovers from the attack, both she and her mom are looking forward to the future.

She can use her arms again, is able to talk and has started to relearn how to walk. She will likely require dentures.

Her mother said she will be in rehab for quite a while" as she works through physical therapy, undergoes additional surgeries and regains her strength.

Just last week, the woman started using a walker.

I'm stronger than I was before," said the woman, who has difficulty speaking due to the braces on her teeth. I'm doing much better."

The mother hopes to eventually move her daughter out of the care facility and find her a low-income apartment where she could have assistance through a personal support worker. The community has also rallied behind the family.

Both daughter and mother remain optimistic about her recovery from addiction. But her mother is still fearful of another attack.

It's very scary to me," said the mother, who is fearful of men. I'm just praying that she stays sober."

As part of her daughter's recovery, the mother is hopeful the two of them can meet the woman who played a major part in saving her daughter's life.

According to the mother, the woman heard her daughter screaming during the attack and bravely entered the alleyway despite the potential risks of being injured herself.

The mother said the woman managed to get the man away from her daughter, and started attending to her injuries and called 911.

If the woman hadn't done what she did, the mother fears her daughter would have never survived the attack.

She is the hero in this story," said the mother. I would like to speak to that girl so I can properly thank her for saving my daughter's life - that would mean a lot to us."

I just want justice for my daughter'

One thing that worries the mother is the effect a trial would have on her daughter.

Obajuluwa, the 24-year-old Hamilton man, has been charged with aggravated sexual assault in connection to the incident. Police say he did not know the woman before the attack and was not known to police prior to his arrest.

The mother frets about the potential impact court proceedings could have on her daughter's recovery. She noted that investigators took several pictures of her daughter post-attack; doctors were unsure if she was going to survive.

The woman still has no memory of the attack, something her mother calls a blessing. When asked by The Spectator, the woman couldn't recall any details of the incident.

It's going to leave scars on her mind," said her mother, speaking to the trauma of having to relive the attack. I just want justice for my daughter."

But the mother wants more than justice - she wants others to see sex workers for more than just their livelihood, and described her daughter as a caring and kind woman who would give anyone what she has.

She also called for increased protections for street-level sex workers - a group that includes her daughter.

They're human beings," said the mother. And these girls are loved."

Resources for survivors of sexual violence:

SACHA (Sexual Assault Centre, Hamilton and Area): 24-hour support line 905-525-4162; sacha.ca.

Children's Aid Society - intake line: (905) 522-1121.

Catholic Children's Aid Society - intake line: (905) 525-2012.

SAVIS (Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services of Halton): 905-875-1555.

Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Care Centre at Hamilton Health Sciences: 905-521-2100 ext. 73557.

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com