Omagh woman develops 'lifeline' app for coercive control victims

FORMER Omagh councillor and community advocate Sorcha McAnespy has turned her years of political and community experience into a groundbreaking project - the creation of a discreet mobile app designed to help victims of coercive control recognise abuse, seek support, and safely navigate a way out.

Ms McAnespy’s idea, which she first began shaping nearly a decade ago, recently caught the attention of local entrepreneurs and community leaders when it was shortlisted at Go Succeed’s Ultimate Pitch competition for the Fermanagh and Omagh district in September.

While she didn’t take home the top prize, her concept - a blend of empathy, technology, and lived experience - is already “raising eyebrows for all the right reasons.”

“This isn’t just a big-city issue, it’s happening in our towns, our rural communities - right here on our doorstep. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors, and people can feel too embarrassed or frightened to speak up. That’s where this app can step in.”

Ms McAnespy’s journey toward developing the app began in 2015 when she chaired the Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) on the newly formed Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Working closely with groups like Women’s Aid, she began to see how deeply the problem of coercive control - a form of emotional and psychological abuse - was affecting people across the district.

“At that time, a lot of people didn’t even realise what coercive control was,” she explained.

“It was almost an unknown phenomenon. People came to me with their stories, and we soon discovered there were few resources available.