🔗 Share this article Transitioning from Professional Dominatrix to Tech Founder: An Unconventional Campaign Against Revenge Porn Madelaine Thomas explains her personal experience of experiencing her intimate images leaked provides her a distinct perspective as a technology entrepreneur. Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your average tech founder. After multiple instances of clients distributing her intimate photographs, she felt "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and looked to technology for a solution. "Those were beautiful pictures, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were used against me by an individual who I don't know," said Madelaine. Madelaine has received several awards such as the Tech Safety Innovation award at a prominent industry conference. Just over a year since founding her company, Image Angel, which employs invisible forensic watermarking to track perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as best practice in an independent pornography review earlier this year. This represents a significant shift from her previous career in offering BDSM services, working with clients in the world of kink and bondage. The Pervasive Problem Intimate image abuse, commonly known as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with offenders facing up to two years in prison. It is far from an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A report indicates that approximately 1.42% of the women in the UK is affected by this form of abuse on an annual basis. Madelaine, 37, said survivors lived with shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you shared a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she said. "I expect dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are up for debate," she continued. "The reality 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 being an abuser." Madelaine hopes her technology will deter potential intimate image abusers without consent. An Unconventional Path Madelaine has been working as a 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 empowered and strong, giving my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she said. "People think it's unusual but I view it similarly to a personal trainer or an financial advisor giving advice," she added. She embraces being something of an anomaly in the world of tech. "I understand that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it took someone who has been through it to know the flaws and the changes that were necessary," she explained. She insisted she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, investigation and "consulting experts" who know about tech. Understanding the Tech Solution Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people share images, for instance social connection apps, social media and websites. When an image is viewed by a user, it is automatically embedded with an undetectable digital marker which is unique to them. This invisible watermark is embedded into the digital file of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being edited and being re-captured with a secondary device. It means that if you discover your image has been shared without your consent, providing the service you used has the system integrated, the viewer's details will be hidden within the image and can be retrieved by a data recovery specialist so action can be taken. To date, one platform has adopted her tech and she's in talks with several more. An Established Method for a New Purpose "This technology is already in use in the film industry, it is employed in live television so this is not an untested concept, it's just a novel use and a different framework," explained Madelaine. "We have validated it, we're collaborating with a firm that has decades of expertise in developing technology so we are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she continued. She said she hoped the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators. Changing the Narrative An advocate from a support service commented she had seen directly the panic, distress and self-blame this abuse inflicted on victims. "If that self-blame is reinforced by a misinformed friend or service who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be reinforced so it's really important that the support a victim receives is that they have committed no error," she stated. She noted it was inspiring that Madelaine was using her experience to bring about change, adding: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing technology-enabled abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort." Both women have been victims of having their intimate images shared without their consent. TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when images of her in her underwear were circulated within her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess endured in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning. "It required years, too long for someone to say to me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," recalled Jess. She too is passionate about removing the stigma of this crime from the victims to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to willingly share an image to someone," stated Jess. "However, it is illegal to circulate that non-consensually and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she concluded.