đź”— Share this article Transitioning from Professional Dominatrix to Tech Founder: An Unconventional Fight Against Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas says her personal experience of having her intimate images shared without consent gives her a unique insight as a tech founder. Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your average tech founder. After repeated instances of individuals leaking her intimate photographs, she was "angry enough to take action" and turned to tech solutions for a solution. "These were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were used against me by someone who I don't know," stated Madelaine. Madelaine has received multiple accolades including the Tech Safety Innovation award at a major industry conference. Just over a year since founding her venture, Image Angel, which employs invisible forensic watermarking to track perpetrators, has won several awards and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study recently. This represents quite a departure from her background in offering BDSM services, working with clients in the world of kink and bondage. The Pervasive Problem The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with offenders facing up to two years in prison. It is far from an issue uniquely experienced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A study suggests that around 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by this form of abuse each year. Madelaine, thirty-seven, said victims endured 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 said. "I expect respect, 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 subsequently distributed where I live or with people I love and used to hurt them, that's unacceptable, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's an individual being an abuser." Madelaine aims her technology will deter potential intimate image abusers without consent. A Unique Journey Madelaine has been practicing as a professional dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade and always found her work liberating and satisfying. "It's me as a woman in control, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering my body as a gift to someone because I wish to," she said. "People think it's strange but I view it similarly to a nutritionist or an accountant providing a service," she added. She welcomes being something of an anomaly in the world of tech. "I understand that it's bizarre, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a tech company, but it required someone who has been through it to know the flaws and the modifications that needed to happen," she stated. She maintained she was not technically inclined and was able 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 used by any online platform where people share images, for instance social connection apps, social networks and websites. When an image is accessed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an invisible forensic watermark which is specific to that viewer. This invisible watermark is embedded into the digital file of the image itself and can survive screen shots, being edited and being photographed with a different camera. It ensures that if you discover your image has been circulated without your consent, providing the service you posted it on has the technology embedded, the viewer's details will be hidden within the image and can be extracted by a forensic expert so legal steps can follow. Currently, one service has adopted her tech and she's in talks with many others. An Established Method for a New Purpose "This technology already exists in the film industry, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not an untested concept, it's just a new application and a different framework," said Madelaine. "And we've tested it, we're collaborating with a company that has decades of expertise in tech development so we know that this is solid and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she continued. She said she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators. Changing the Narrative An advocate from a leading helpline commented she had seen directly the trauma and guilt intimate image abuse inflicted on victims. "If that self-blame is reinforced by a uninformed acquaintance or professional who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's crucial that the support somebody is provided with is that they have not done anything wrong," she emphasized. She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, saying: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing tech facilitated abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone, no one helpline, it needs to be this integrated effort." Both women have experienced experiencing their private photos distributed non-consensually. 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 advocacy work. "It took so long, an excessive amount of time for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," recalled Jess. She too is dedicated to removing the stigma of this crime from the victims to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to willingly share an image to someone," said Jess. "However, it is illegal to distribute that without consent and I think that should always be where the blame is," she affirmed.