Control is a story of abuse.

There were many parts of Rosa that acted outside of her direct control and she would watch from somewhere above or outside while they got on with it. Most of the time they just responded to whoever was in the room, but occasionally one took the initiative and went out on a limb, so to speak. 

It draws on my professional encounters with victims and recent reports of child sexual exploitation where victims were frequently not heard and were sometimes also criminalised and returned to their abusers. Although I have written many factual reports about the impact of abuse on vulnerable people – the detachment that goes from emotional disengagement right through to almost complete disowning of a body that is experiencing repeated assaults and violations – I sometimes think fiction can get a little closer. I hope this story feels real to the people who matter.