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BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas is not at all your average startup entrepreneur. Following repeated instances of clients distributing her private explicit images, she was "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and looked to tech solutions for answers.

"These were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were weaponized by someone who I have never met," stated Madelaine.

Just over a year since founding her company, Image Angel, which employs covert digital tracking to identify abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as best practice in an government-commissioned study recently.

This marks a significant shift from her previous career in providing consensual sexual encounters, dominating clients in the realms of kink and bondage.

A Widespread Issue

The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as image-based abuse, is a criminal offence with offenders risking 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 women in the UK is affected by intimate image abuse each year.

Madelaine, 37, said survivors lived with feelings of humiliation. "I think a lot of people will say, 'you put 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 don't see why those are up for debate," she added. "The reality that those images could be subsequently distributed where I live or with people I love and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not a decision I made, that's not an error on my part, that's someone committing abuse."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and consistently found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a woman in control, a woman who is empowered and strong, offering my body as a treat 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 something of an anomaly in the world of tech. "I know that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the flaws and the modifications that needed to happen," she stated.

She insisted she was not in the least bit techy and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "bugging people" who understand 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 viewed by a user, it is automatically embedded 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 survive screen shots, being edited and being photographed with a secondary device.

It ensures that if you discover your image has been shared non-consensually, 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 action can be taken.

To date, one platform has implemented her tech and she's in discussions with many others.

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system already exists in the film industry, it is employed in live television so this is not brand new technology, it's just a new application and a different framework," said Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're partnering with a company that has 30 years experience in tech development so we are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she added.

She said she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators.

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 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 response a victim receives is that they have not done anything wrong," she emphasized.

She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to create solutions, saying: "It is vital to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling technology-enabled 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."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in her underwear were shared around her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess endured in her youth that would later inform her advocacy work.

"It took so long, an excessive amount of time for someone to say to me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," said Jess.

She too is passionate about removing the stigma of this crime from the victims to the offenders. "There is no offence to consensually send an image 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.