We work closely with Tullamore Rape Crisis Centre, who provide therapeutic supports for survivors of sexual abuse and rape, in Laois as well as Offaly. Please see here for more information.
The Timekeeper is a short film centered on the story of 11-year-old Ben, who is desperate to protect his mother from the physical and psychological abuse dished out by his father. Instead of being able to save his Mum, he is drawn into his father’s coercive control, through a game involving timing his Mum’s trips to the local corner shop.
Alfred Biderman was an American sociologist who developed a theory around coercive methods for enforcing compliance in 1956. This Guardian article by Jess Hill explains the nature of coercive control very well.
Building on Biderman's work, Evan Stark is an American sociologist and forensic social worker who has written about how domestic violence is neither primarily domestic nor necessarily violent, but a pattern of controlling behaviors more akin to terrorism and hostage-taking. You can read a useful article he wrote here or buy his book here.
