Transitioning from Dominatrix to Technology Entrepreneur: A Unique Battle Against Revenge Porn

BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your average tech founder. Following repeated instances of individuals distributing her private explicit images, she was "angry enough to take action" and looked to technology for a solution.

"These were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were used against me by an individual who I have never met," stated Madelaine.

Just over a year after founding her venture, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to identify perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

This represents quite a departure from her previous career in offering BDSM services, dominating clients in the realms of BDSM.

The Pervasive Problem

Intimate image abuse, often referred to as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with perpetrators facing up to two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue exclusively faced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A study suggests that around 1.42% of the UK female population is impacted by intimate image abuse each year.

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

"I expect dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, and I don't see why those are negotiable," she continued. "The fact that those images could be then shared where I live or with my loved ones and used to hurt them, that's unacceptable, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's an individual committing abuse."

An Unconventional Path

Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, primarily online, for 10 years and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering my body as a gift to someone because I wish to," she described.

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

She embraces being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I know that it's bizarre, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a tech company, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the loopholes and the changes that were necessary," she stated.

She insisted she was not technically inclined and was managed to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "bugging people" who know about tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

Image Angel can be used by any online platform where people exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social networks and websites.

When an image is accessed by a user, it is seamlessly tagged with an undetectable digital marker which is specific to that viewer.

This covert marker is embedded into the copy of the image itself and can withstand screenshots, being edited and being photographed with a different camera.

It means that if you find out your image has been circulated non-consensually, providing the platform you used 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 service has implemented her tech and she's in talks with several more.

An Established Method for a New Purpose

"The system is already in use in Hollywood, it already exists in live television so this is not brand new technology, it's just a novel use and a different framework," said Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're collaborating with a firm that has decades of expertise in tech development so we are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she added.

She said she believed the technology would also act as a preventive measure to would-be perpetrators.

Changing the Narrative

An advocate from a leading helpline commented she had seen first-hand the panic, distress and self-blame this abuse caused for victims.

"If that self-blame is compounded by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that guilt can really be deepened so it's really important that the support a victim receives is that they have committed no error," she stated.

She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to create solutions, saying: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing tech facilitated abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to tackle this alone, no one helpline, it needs to be this multi-layered response."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when images of her in a state of undress were circulated within her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured in her teens and 20s that would later shape her advocacy work.

"It required years, too long for someone to say to me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," said Jess.

She too is passionate about removing the stigma of this crime from the victims to the perpetrators. "It isn't a crime to consensually send an photo to someone," said Jess.

"However, it is illegal to distribute that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the blame is," she affirmed.