37-year-old dominatrix Madelaine Thomas from Monmouthshire is leading by example with her daring decision. The intrepid trailblazer she recently founded Image Angel, the first nonprofit organization focused on condemning and combating intimate image abuse, or revenge porn. Thomas uses her own experiences, such as the leak of her intimate images, to ground her narrative. She’s created a groundbreaking model for fighting the shocking increase of this crime, which affects 1.42% of the UK female population per year, as estimated in a report by the Revenge Porn Helpline.
After a decade spent as an online dominatrix, Thomas had accrued copious experience. Now, she applies that invaluable perspective to her role as cofounder of the tech firm emcArts. Her expertise stems from having felt the emotional and psychological impacts of seeing her own images appropriated without permission. This story continues to inspire her efforts to protect young people and all of us online.
“I think a lot of people will say, ‘you put a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you expect?’” said Thomas. “I expect dignity, I expect respect, and I expect trust, and I don’t see why those are negotiable.”
Angel’s technology easily integrates with any digital platform where images are shared. This does include popular dating apps and social media platforms. Until now, just one booking platform has eagerly adopted Thomas’s technology. She’s currently in active conversations with many more to expand its reach.
Thomas’s goal is to educate the public, specifically to dissuade potential abusers from disseminating non-consensual photos. “The fact that those images could be then shared around where I live or with people I love and used to hurt them, that’s beyond, that’s not my choice, that’s not my mistake, that’s someone being an abuser,” she stated.
The issue of intimate image abuse has gained traction in recent years, with more victims coming forward to share their stories. Public advocates including television presenter Jess Davies have added their voices to call for change. No one understands the anger of having their private, intimate images shared without their permission like Davies. She commended Thomas’s work and spoke to how important a positive response is to victims.
“It took so long, too long for someone to say to me, ‘it wasn’t your fault’ and ‘that shouldn’t have happened’,” Davies said.
To truly combat tech-facilitated GBA, an interconnected web of experts on *both sides of the pond* echo the importance of a multifaceted approach. Kate Worthington, an advocate for victim support, noted that “it is really important to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling tech facilitated gender-based abuse because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone.”
Thomas’s technology is just one factor in this complex solution. According to her, “This technology already exists in Hollywood; it already exists in sports broadcasting so this is not brand new technology; it’s just a new application and a new system.”
Beyond the award-winning promotional campaign creative, Image Angel has deep, practical applications that make a real impact. It’s focused on changing society’s perception of intimate image sharing. Thomas believes that understanding the distinction between consensual image sharing and abusive distribution is crucial. “It isn’t a crime to consensually send an image to someone,” she said. It should be a crime to distribute that without consent and I believe that should always be where the focus is.
Now, as she resumes her work with Image Angel, Thomas feels her role as a teacher and an artist to be particularly empowering and fulfilling. Specifically, she continues to find ways to create significant, systemic change and provide assistance to survivors of intimate image abuse.
We’ve taken it for a test drive! We’re working with a firm that has 30 years of experience integrating technology and development to make sure that our solution is sound. She added confidently, “What we now need to do is test it at scale.”
Madelaine Thomas draws on her personal experiences to inform technical innovation. Considering all that she has done already, we expect her to continue making waves in the fight against revenge porn. Her advocacy brings to light a more comprehensive goal of creating safer online spaces for everyone. They have to deal with the stigma around sharing sexually explicit images.