A new cross-border partnership combining innovation and survivor-centred advocacy to address digital sexual abuse.
Image Angel’s mission to end image-based abuse takes a powerful step forward through our new partnership with the Digital Sexual Violence Support Centre (DSVSC) — a Canadian non-profit dedicated to empowering adult survivors of technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV). Together, we are joining forces to combine cutting-edge forensic technology with the enhanced capacity to direct individuals in Canda towards survivor-led support, education and advocacy.
Bridging Technology and Trauma-Informed Care
This collaboration brings together Image Angel’s pioneering watermarking technology, which embeds unique recipient-linked and traceable identifiers into every broadcast, image and frame of video, with DSVSC’s intersectional, feminist approach to survivor care and education. We are aligned in our commitment to feminist values and interventions into gender-based values.
While Image Angel focuses on preventing and tracing non-consensual sharing through innovation, the DSVSC provides critical peer-support programmes, workshops and advocacy to help survivors process trauma, access resources and navigate complex legal and emotional challenges. Survivors in Canda can access a 45-minute one-on-one peer supporter session through the DSVSC who will help them process their sexual trauma, as well as navigate resources like Image Angel.
By uniting technological protection with survivor-centred healing, our partnership aims to close the gap between prevention, accountability and recovery in cases of digital sexual abuse.
A Shared Commitment to Empowerment
Founded in 2023, the DSVSC was created to address the lack of national support for survivors of TFSV in Canada, including intimate image abuse, online sexual harassment, deepfake pornography, doxxing of sexual information and sextortion. The organisation’s mission is to empower survivors through transformative programmes, raise awareness and equip the public with the language and understanding needed to respond with compassion and care.
At the heart of this work is the recognition that women, queer and non-binary people are disproportionately targeted by TFSV. The DSVSC’s intersectional feminist framework ensures that the voices of black, Indigenous and people of colour, alongside 2SLGBTQIA+ survivors, remain centred in advocacy and service design.
“Technology-facilitated sexual violence doesn’t end when the image is shared. It extends through the survivor’s relationships and self-identity,” said Madelaine Thomas, Founder and CEO of Image Angel. “By working with the DSVSC, we’re expanding our impact from digital protection to holistic survivor support. This is how sustainable change happens, through accountability, education and empathy.”
Towards Safer, More Compassionate Digital Spaces
Through this partnership, Image Angel and the DSVSC will collaborate on awareness campaigns, survivor resources and joint educational initiatives to strengthen the public’s understanding of TFSV and reduce stigma. We share the fundamental belief that technology can and must be used ethically, responsibly and in service of those that have experienced harms. Together, we aim to empower survivors to reclaim control, ensure perpetrators face accountability and promote a culture of digital respect.
