🔗 Share this article From Professional Dominatrix to Technology Entrepreneur: An Unconventional Campaign Against Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas explains her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her intimate images shared without consent provides her a unique insight as a tech founder. BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your standard tech founder. After repeated occurrences of clients leaking her intimate photographs, she felt "angry enough to do something about it" and turned to technology for a solution. "Those were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were weaponized by an individual who I don't know," explained Madelaine. Madelaine has won multiple accolades such as the Innovation in Tech Safety award at a prominent safety summit. Little over a year after founding her venture, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to identify perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as best practice in an independent pornography review recently. 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, often referred to as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with offenders facing up to two years in prison. It is far from an issue exclusively faced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A report 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 feelings of humiliation. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she noted. "I expect respect, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, and I fail to understand why those are up for debate," she continued. "The reality that those images could be then shared where I live or with my loved ones and used to hurt them, that's unacceptable, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's an individual committing abuse." Madelaine hopes her technology will deter potential individuals from sharing photos non-consensually. A Unique Journey Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and always found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, offering my body as a treat to someone of my own volition," she said. "Some believe it's strange but I view it similarly to a nutritionist or an financial advisor giving advice," she added. She embraces being something of an anomaly in the world of tech. "I understand that it's bizarre, it's crazy to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a tech company, but it required someone who has been through it to know the loopholes and the modifications that were necessary," she explained. She insisted she was not in the least bit techy and was able to build her company after a lot of late nights, investigation and "consulting experts" who understand tech. Understanding the Tech Solution Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people share images, for instance dating apps, social media and online sites. When an image is accessed by a user, it is seamlessly tagged with an invisible forensic watermark which is specific to that viewer. This invisible watermark is embedded into the copy of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being altered and being re-captured with a different camera. It means that if you discover your image has been shared without your consent, providing the platform you posted it on has the technology embedded, the viewer's details will be encoded in the image and can be retrieved by a forensic expert so action can be taken. To date, one service has adopted her tech and she's in talks with many others. An Established Method for a New Purpose "The system is already in use in Hollywood, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not brand new technology, it's just a novel use and a new system," said Madelaine. "We have validated it, we're collaborating with a company that has 30 years experience 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 expressed hope she believed the technology would also act as a preventive measure to potential perpetrators. Changing the Narrative An expert from a leading helpline said she had seen first-hand the panic, distress and self-blame intimate image abuse caused for victims. "If that self-blame is compounded by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that guilt can really be deepened so it's really important that the response a victim receives is that they have not done anything wrong," she stated. She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, saying: "It is vital to have this multi-layered approach towards addressing tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to tackle this alone, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort." Both women have experienced experiencing their intimate images distributed without their consent. TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when images of her in a state of undress were circulated within her local community. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her youth that would later inform her women's rights campaigning. "It took so long, too long for someone to tell me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," said Jess. She too is dedicated to removing the stigma of this crime from the survivors to the offenders. "There is no offence to consensually send an photo to someone," said Jess. "However, it is illegal to distribute that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the blame is," she concluded.