🔗 Share this article From Professional Dominatrix to Tech Founder: An Unconventional Battle To Combat Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas explains her first-hand ordeal of having her private photos leaked provides her a distinct perspective as a tech founder. Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas is not at all your standard startup entrepreneur. Following repeated instances of clients distributing her private explicit images, she was "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and turned to tech solutions for a solution. "Those were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were used against me by an individual who I have never met," stated Madelaine. Madelaine has won multiple accolades including the Tech Safety Innovation award at a prominent safety summit. Just over a year after launching her venture, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to identify perpetrators, has won several awards and was cited 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 world of kink and bondage. A Widespread Issue Intimate image abuse, often referred to as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with perpetrators risking two years in prison. It is far from an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A study suggests that approximately 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse each year. Madelaine, thirty-seven, said survivors lived with shame and stigma. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," 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 used to hurt them, that's unacceptable, that's not a decision I made, that's not an error on my part, that's someone committing abuse." Madelaine aims her tech will deter potential intimate image abusers without consent. A Unique Journey Madelaine has been working as a dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "It's me as a woman in control, a woman who is empowered and strong, offering my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she said. "Some believe it's strange but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an financial advisor giving advice," she remarked. She welcomes being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I know that it's bizarre, it's remarkable to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the flaws and the modifications that were necessary," she stated. She insisted she was not in the least bit techy and was managed 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 exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social media and online sites. When an image is viewed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an undetectable digital marker 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 altered and being photographed with a secondary device. It means that if you discover your image has been shared non-consensually, as long as the service you used 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 discussions with many others. An Established Method for a New Purpose "This technology already exists in the film industry, it already exists in sports broadcasting so this is not brand new technology, it's just a novel use and a different framework," explained Madelaine. "And we've tested it, we're collaborating with a company that has decades of expertise in tech development so we are confident that this is reliable and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she added. She said she hoped the technology would also act as a preventive measure to potential intimate image abusers. Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame An advocate from a leading helpline commented she had seen first-hand the trauma and guilt intimate image abuse caused for victims. "If that self-blame is compounded by a misinformed friend or service who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's really important that the support a victim receives is that they have not done anything wrong," she emphasized. She added it was inspiring that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, 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 tackle this alone, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort." Madelaine Thomas and TV presenter Jess Davies have experienced experiencing their intimate images shared non-consensually. TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when images of her in a state of undress were circulated within her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning. "It required years, too long for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," said Jess. She too is passionate about removing the stigma of this crime from the survivors to the perpetrators. "It isn't a crime 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.