🔗 Share this article Transitioning from BDSM Practitioner to Technology Entrepreneur: An Unconventional Fight Against Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas says her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her intimate images shared without consent gives her a unique insight as a tech founder. Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas is far from your standard tech founder. After multiple occurrences of clients leaking her private explicit images, she was "sufficiently outraged to take action" and turned to tech solutions for a solution. "These were beautiful pictures, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were weaponized by an individual who I have never met," said Madelaine. Madelaine has won multiple accolades such as the Tech Safety Innovation award at a major safety summit. Little over a year after launching her venture, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to identify abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as best practice in an independent pornography review earlier this year. This marks a significant shift from her background in offering BDSM services, working with clients in the world of kink and bondage. The Pervasive Problem 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 sex industry. A report indicates that around 1.42% of the women in the UK is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis. Madelaine, thirty-seven, said survivors lived with feelings of humiliation. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you shared a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she noted. "I expect respect, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are negotiable," she added. "The fact that those images could be then shared where I live 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." Madelaine aims her technology will prevent potential intimate image abusers non-consensually. A Unique Journey Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, primarily online, for 10 years and consistently found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am 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 said. "People think it's strange but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an accountant giving advice," she remarked. 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 creator of a tech company, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the loopholes and the changes that were necessary," she stated. She insisted she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after many 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 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 encoded within the copy of the image itself and can survive screenshots, being altered and being photographed with a secondary device. It means that if you find out your image has been circulated non-consensually, providing the service you used has the technology embedded, the viewer's details will be encoded in the image and can be retrieved by a forensic expert so legal steps can follow. To date, one service has implemented her tech and she's in talks with many others. Proven Technology, New Application "The system is already in use in Hollywood, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not an untested concept, it's just a new application and a new system," explained Madelaine. "We have validated it, we're partnering with a company that has decades of expertise in developing technology so we are confident 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 preventive measure to would-be intimate image abusers. Changing the Narrative An expert from a leading helpline commented she had seen first-hand the trauma and guilt this abuse caused for victims. "If that self-blame is reinforced by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be deepened 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 using her experience to create solutions, saying: "It is vital to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to solve this problem, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort." Both women have been victims of experiencing their private photos distributed non-consensually. TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in her underwear were shared around her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured in her teens and 20s that would later shape her women's rights campaigning. "It required years, an excessive amount of time for someone to tell me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," said Jess. She too is passionate about removing the stigma of intimate image abuse from the survivors to the offenders. "It isn't a crime to consensually send an photo to someone," stated Jess. "However, it is illegal to distribute that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the responsibility is," she concluded.