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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your standard tech founder. Following multiple occurrences of individuals leaking her private explicit images, she was "angry enough to take action" and turned to technology for answers.

"Those were beautiful pictures, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the way that they were weaponized by an individual who I don't know," said Madelaine.

Just over a year after launching her company, Image Angel, which employs invisible forensic watermarking to track perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study recently.

This represents a significant shift from her background in providing BDSM services, working with clients in the realms of BDSM.

The Pervasive Problem

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

It is not at all an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A study indicates that approximately 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, thirty-seven, said survivors lived with shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will say, 'you shared a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she noted.

"I expect respect, I expect respect, and I expect trust, and I don't see why those are negotiable," she continued. "The fact that those images could be subsequently distributed in my community or with people I love and employed to cause them pain, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's someone being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade 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 gift to someone of my own volition," she said.

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

She embraces 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 creator of a tech company, but it required someone who has been through it to know the loopholes 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 sleepless nights, investigation and "bugging people" who know about tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social media and websites.

When an image is accessed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an undetectable digital marker which is specific to that viewer.

This covert marker is embedded into the copy of the image itself and can withstand screenshots, being edited and being re-captured with a secondary device.

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 legal steps can follow.

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

Proven Technology, New Application

"This technology already exists in the film industry, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not brand new technology, it's just a new application and a new system," said Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're collaborating with a company that has decades of expertise in tech development so we know that this is reliable 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 preventive measure to would-be intimate image abusers.

Changing the Narrative

An expert from a leading helpline commented she had seen directly the trauma and guilt intimate image abuse caused for 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 guilt can really be reinforced so it's crucial that the response somebody is provided with is that they have committed no error," she emphasized.

She noted it was inspiring that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, saying: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling technology-enabled gender-based abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to solve this problem, not just support services, it needs to be this multi-layered response."

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 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 eliminating the shame of this crime from the victims to the offenders. "There is no offence to consensually send an photo 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.