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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas represents not at all your average startup entrepreneur. Following multiple occurrences of individuals leaking her private explicit images, she felt "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and turned to technology for answers.

"Those were beautiful pictures, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm ashamed of the way that they were used against me by an individual who I have never met," explained Madelaine.

Just over a year after founding her company, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to identify abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as exemplary procedure in an independent pornography review recently.

This represents quite a departure from her background in offering consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the world of kink and bondage.

A Widespread Issue

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

It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A report suggests that around 1.42% of the women in the UK is affected by this form of abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, thirty-seven, said victims endured shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will say, '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 fail to understand why those are up for debate," she continued. "The reality 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 an error on my part, that's an individual being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been practicing as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and consistently found her work empowering and fulfilling. "It's me as a woman in control, a woman who is confident and powerful, giving my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she described.

"People think it's strange but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an financial advisor providing a service," she remarked.

She embraces being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I know that it's bizarre, it's crazy to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it took someone who has been through it to know the flaws and the modifications that needed to happen," she stated.

She insisted she was not technically inclined and was managed to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "consulting experts" who understand tech.

How Does the Technology Work?

Image Angel can be used by any online platform where people exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social networks and websites.

When an image is accessed by a user, it is automatically embedded 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 survive screenshots, being altered and being re-captured with a secondary device.

It ensures that if you discover your image has been shared non-consensually, providing the platform you used has the system integrated, the viewer's details will be hidden within the image and can be retrieved by a data recovery specialist so legal steps can follow.

To date, one service has adopted her tech and she's in talks with several more.

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system is already in use 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 different framework," explained Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're collaborating with a company that has 30 years experience in developing technology so we know that this is reliable and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she continued.

She said she hoped the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators.

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An expert from a support service said she had seen first-hand the trauma and guilt this abuse caused for victims.

"When that guilt is reinforced by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that guilt can really be reinforced so it's crucial that the support somebody is provided with is that they have committed no error," she stated.

She added it was inspiring that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, adding: "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 multi-layered response."

TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when images of her in her underwear were circulated within her local community. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess experienced in her youth that would later shape her advocacy work.

"It took so long, an excessive amount of time for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that was wrong'," said Jess.

She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of this crime from the survivors to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to willingly share an image to someone," stated Jess.

"However, it is illegal to distribute that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the blame is," she concluded.