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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies far from your average startup entrepreneur. After multiple occurrences of individuals distributing her intimate photographs, she felt "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and turned to technology for a solution.

"Those were striking images, I'm not ashamed of the pictures, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were weaponized by an individual who I don't know," stated Madelaine.

Just over a year since launching her venture, Image Angel, which employs invisible forensic watermarking to identify abusers, has won several awards and was recommended as best practice in an independent pornography review earlier this year.

This represents a significant shift from her previous career in providing consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the realms of BDSM.

A Widespread Issue

The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with perpetrators facing up to two years in prison.

It is far from an issue exclusively faced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A report suggests that around 1.42% of the women in the UK is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, 37, said victims lived with feelings of humiliation. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you put a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she noted.

"I expect dignity, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I don't see why those are negotiable," she continued. "The reality that those images could be then shared in my community or with people I love and employed to cause them pain, that's beyond, that's not a decision I made, that's not an error on my part, that's someone being an abuser."

An Unconventional Path

Madelaine has been working as a dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and consistently found her work liberating and satisfying. "It's me as a woman in control, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a treat to someone of my own volition," she described.

"Some believe it's unusual but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an financial advisor providing a service," she remarked.

She embraces being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I know that it's unconventional, it's crazy to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a technology firm, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the flaws and the changes that needed to happen," she stated.

She maintained she was not in the least bit techy and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, investigation 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 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 encoded within the copy of the image itself and can survive screen shots, being edited and being re-captured with a different camera.

It ensures that if you discover your image has been shared without your consent, providing the service you used has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be encoded in the image and can be retrieved by a forensic expert so action can be taken.

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

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 new system," explained Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're partnering with a company that has 30 years experience in tech development 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 preventive measure to would-be intimate image abusers.

Changing the Narrative

An advocate from a leading helpline commented she had seen first-hand the panic, distress and self-blame intimate image abuse inflicted on victims.

"If that self-blame is compounded by a uninformed acquaintance or service 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 committed no error," she emphasized.

She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to bring about change, saying: "It is vital to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling tech facilitated abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to solve this problem, no one helpline, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when images of her in a state of undress were shared around her local community. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess experienced in her youth that would later shape her advocacy work.

"It required years, too long for someone to tell me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," recalled Jess.

She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of intimate image abuse from the victims to the perpetrators. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an image to someone," stated Jess.

"But it is a crime to circulate that non-consensually and I think that should always be where the blame is," she concluded.