From Dominatrix to Technology Entrepreneur: A Unique Campaign To Combat Revenge Porn

BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas is far from your typical tech founder. Following repeated instances of individuals leaking her private explicit images, she was "angry enough to do something about it" and turned to technology for answers.

"Those were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm embarrassed of the way that they were used against me by an individual who I don't know," explained Madelaine.

Just over a year after founding her venture, Image Angel, which employs invisible forensic watermarking to identify perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

This represents quite a departure from her previous career in providing consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the world of BDSM.

A Widespread Issue

Intimate image abuse, commonly known as image-based abuse, is a criminal offence with perpetrators risking two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue exclusively faced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A study indicates that around 1.42% of the women in the UK is impacted by this form of abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, thirty-seven, said victims lived with feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will say, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she noted.

"I demand dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, and I fail to understand why those are negotiable," she continued. "The reality that those images could be subsequently distributed in my community or with my loved ones and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's an individual being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "It's me as a woman in control, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering my body as a treat to someone because I wish to," she described.

"People think it's unusual but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an financial advisor providing a service," she remarked.

She embraces being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I know that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the flaws and the changes that needed to happen," she stated.

She maintained she was not technically inclined and was managed to build her company after many sleepless nights, investigation and "bugging people" who understand tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

Image Angel can be used by any digital service where people exchange photos, for instance dating apps, social media and online sites.

When an image is viewed by a user, it is automatically embedded with an invisible forensic watermark which is specific to that viewer.

This invisible watermark is encoded within the digital file of the image itself and can withstand screenshots, being altered and being re-captured with a secondary device.

It ensures that if you discover your image has been shared without your consent, providing the service you posted it on has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be hidden within the image and can be extracted by a forensic expert so action can be taken.

To date, one platform has implemented her tech and she's in talks with several more.

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system already exists in Hollywood, it already exists in live television so this is not an untested concept, it's just a novel use and a new system," said Madelaine.

"And we've tested it, we're partnering with a company that has 30 years experience in tech development so we know that this is reliable and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she continued.

She expressed hope she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators.

Changing the Narrative

An advocate from a support service said she had seen directly the panic, distress and self-blame intimate image abuse inflicted on victims.

"If that self-blame is compounded by a uninformed acquaintance or professional who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's crucial that the response somebody is provided with is that they have committed no error," she emphasized.

She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to bring about change, saying: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to tackle this alone, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when photographs of her in her underwear were circulated within her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning.

"It required years, too long for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that was wrong'," recalled Jess.

She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of this crime from the survivors to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to willingly share an photo to someone," stated Jess.

"However, it is illegal to circulate that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the responsibility is," she concluded.