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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas represents far from your typical tech founder. After multiple instances of individuals leaking her intimate photographs, she was "angry enough to do something about it" and turned to tech solutions for a solution.

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

Just over a year after launching her venture, Image Angel, which employs covert digital tracking to track perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as best practice in an independent pornography review earlier this year.

This marks quite a departure from her previous career in offering consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the world of BDSM.

A Widespread Issue

The non-consensual sharing of private images, commonly known as image-based abuse, is a criminal offence with offenders risking two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A study indicates that approximately 1.42% of the women in the UK is impacted by this form of abuse each year.

Madelaine, 37, said survivors endured feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she noted.

"I demand dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are up for debate," she added. "The fact that those images could be then shared where I live or with my loved ones and employed to cause them pain, that's unacceptable, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's an individual committing abuse."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a treat to someone because I wish to," she said.

"People think it's strange but I view it similarly to a personal trainer or an financial advisor giving advice," she remarked.

She welcomes being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I understand that it's bizarre, it's crazy to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a tech company, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the flaws and the changes that were necessary," she stated.

She maintained she was not in the least bit techy and was managed to build her company after a lot of late nights, research and "bugging people" who know about tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

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

When an image is accessed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an invisible forensic watermark which is specific to that viewer.

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 different camera.

It ensures that if you discover your image has been shared non-consensually, as long as the service you posted it on has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be hidden within the image and can be retrieved by a data recovery specialist so action can be taken.

Currently, one service has implemented her tech and she's in talks with several more.

Proven Technology, New Application

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

"We have validated it, we're collaborating with a company that has 30 years experience in developing technology so we know that this is solid and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she added.

She expressed hope she hoped the technology would also act as a deterrent to would-be intimate image abusers.

Changing the Narrative

An advocate from a support service said she had seen directly the trauma and guilt intimate image abuse caused for victims.

"When that guilt is reinforced by a uninformed acquaintance or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's crucial that the response somebody is provided with is that they have not done anything wrong," she emphasized.

She noted it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, saying: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling technology-enabled gender-based abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to tackle this alone, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in a state of undress were shared around her local community. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her youth that would later inform her advocacy work.

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

She too is passionate about eliminating the shame of this crime from the survivors to the offenders. "There is no offence to willingly share an photo to someone," said Jess.

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