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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies far from your standard startup entrepreneur. After multiple instances of clients leaking her intimate photographs, she was "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and turned to technology for a solution.

"These were beautiful pictures, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were weaponized by someone who I don't know," stated Madelaine.

Just over a year since founding her venture, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to track abusers, has won several awards and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

This marks a significant shift from her background in providing BDSM services, 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 punishable crime with offenders facing up to two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the sex industry. A report suggests that around 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, thirty-seven, explained victims lived with feelings of humiliation. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she said.

"I expect respect, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, and I fail to understand why those are negotiable," she continued. "The fact that those images could be subsequently distributed in my community or with people I love and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's someone being an abuser."

An Unconventional Path

Madelaine has been working as a dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years 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 treat to someone of my own volition," she described.

"Some believe it's strange but I view it similarly to a nutritionist or an financial advisor giving advice," she added.

She welcomes being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I know that it's unconventional, it's crazy to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it required someone who has been through it to know the loopholes 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 sleepless nights, research and "consulting experts" who understand tech.

How Does the Technology Work?

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

When an image is viewed by a user, 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 edited and being photographed with a different camera.

It means that if you discover your image has been circulated without your consent, as long as the platform you used has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be hidden within 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 novel use and a different framework," said Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're collaborating with a company that has decades of expertise in tech development so we are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she added.

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

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

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

"When that guilt is reinforced by a uninformed acquaintance or service who says 'what did you expect?' that guilt can really be reinforced so it's really important that the support a victim receives is that they have committed no error," she emphasized.

She noted it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, saying: "It is really important to have this multi-layered approach towards addressing technology-enabled abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone, no one helpline, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in a state of undress were circulated within her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her teens and 20s that would later shape her advocacy work.

"It took so long, too long for someone to say to me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," recalled Jess.

She too is dedicated to removing the stigma 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 without consent and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she concluded.