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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas is not at all your typical startup entrepreneur. After multiple instances of clients leaking her private explicit images, she was "angry enough to take action" and turned to technology for a solution.

"These were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were weaponized by an individual who I don't know," said Madelaine.

Little over a year since launching her venture, Image Angel, which employs invisible forensic watermarking to identify perpetrators, has won several awards and was cited as best practice in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

This represents quite a departure from her background in offering consensual sexual encounters, dominating 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 perpetrators facing up to two years in prison.

It is far from an issue uniquely experienced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A report indicates that approximately 1.42% of the women in the UK is impacted by intimate image abuse each year.

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 expect?'," she said.

"I demand dignity, I expect consideration, 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 my loved ones and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's someone being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade and consistently found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a woman in control, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering 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 nutritionist or an accountant giving advice," she remarked.

She embraces being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I know that it's bizarre, it's remarkable to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a tech company, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the flaws and the modifications that needed to happen," she stated.

She maintained she was not technically inclined and was managed to build her company after a lot of late nights, research and "consulting experts" who know about tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

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

When an image is viewed by a viewer, it is automatically embedded with an invisible forensic watermark which is unique to them.

This invisible watermark is encoded within the copy of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being edited and being photographed with a different camera.

It means 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 forensic expert so action can be taken.

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

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system already exists 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 partnering with a firm 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 continued.

She expressed hope she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators.

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

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

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

She noted it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, adding: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing tech facilitated gender-based 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 just 15 when images of her in her underwear were shared around her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess endured in her teens and 20s that would later inform her women's rights campaigning.

"It required years, an excessive amount of time for someone to say to 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. "There is no offence to consensually send an image to someone," said Jess.

"However, it is illegal to circulate that non-consensually and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she concluded.