Transitioning from BDSM Practitioner to Technology Entrepreneur: An Unconventional Battle To Combat Revenge Porn

Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas represents not at all your average startup entrepreneur. Following repeated occurrences of individuals leaking her intimate photographs, she felt "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and looked to tech solutions for answers.

"Those were beautiful pictures, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were used against me by someone who I don't know," said Madelaine.

Little over a year since launching her company, Image Angel, which employs covert digital tracking to track abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as best practice in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

This marks quite a departure from her background in providing consensual sexual encounters, dominating clients in the world of BDSM.

A Widespread Issue

The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with offenders risking two years in prison.

It is far from 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 affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, thirty-seven, said survivors endured shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will say, 'you shared a private image out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she said.

"I demand dignity, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I don't see why those are up for debate," she continued. "The fact that those images could be subsequently distributed where I live or with people I love and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's someone committing abuse."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been working as a dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and consistently found her work empowering and fulfilling. "It's me as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, offering my body as a treat to someone of my own volition," she said.

"People think it's strange but I don't see it any differently to a personal trainer or an accountant giving advice," she remarked.

She welcomes being something of an anomaly in the technology sector. "I know that it's unconventional, it's crazy 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 modifications that needed to happen," she explained.

She maintained she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "consulting experts" who understand tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

Image Angel can be implemented on any online platform where people share images, for instance dating apps, social networks and online sites.

When an image is viewed by a user, it is seamlessly tagged with an invisible forensic watermark which is unique to them.

This covert marker is embedded into the digital file of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being altered and being photographed with a secondary device.

It ensures that if you discover your image has been shared without your consent, as long as the platform you posted it on has the technology embedded, the sharer's information will be hidden within the image and can be retrieved by a data recovery specialist so legal steps can follow.

Currently, one platform has adopted her tech and she's in talks with many others.

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system is already in use in the film industry, it already exists in sports broadcasting so this is not an untested concept, it's just a new application and a different framework," said Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're partnering with a company that has decades of expertise in developing technology so we know that this is reliable and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she added.

She said she hoped the technology would also act as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators.

Changing the Narrative

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

"If that self-blame is compounded by a misinformed friend or service who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that guilt can really be reinforced so it's really important that the support somebody is provided with is that they have committed no error," she stated.

She noted it was inspiring that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, saying: "It is really important to have this multi-layered approach towards addressing tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to solve this problem, not just support services, it needs to be this multi-layered response."

TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when photographs 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 advocacy work.

"It took so long, too long for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," said Jess.

She too is dedicated to removing the stigma of this crime from the victims to the offenders. "There is no offence to willingly share an photo to someone," stated Jess.

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