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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas is not at all your typical startup entrepreneur. After multiple instances of clients distributing her private explicit images, she was "angry enough to do something about it" and looked to technology for answers.

"Those were striking images, I'm not ashamed of the photographs, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were weaponized by someone who I have never met," said Madelaine.

Just over a year after founding her company, Image Angel, which employs covert digital tracking to identify perpetrators, has won several awards and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

This represents quite a departure from her previous career in offering consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the world of BDSM.

The Pervasive Problem

Intimate image abuse, often referred to as revenge porn, is a criminal offence 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 approximately 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, thirty-seven, said victims lived with shame and stigma. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you shared a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she noted.

"I demand dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect confidence, and I don't see why those are negotiable," she added. "The fact that those images could be subsequently distributed where I live or with my loved ones and employed to cause them pain, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's an individual committing abuse."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been practicing as a professional dominatrix, primarily online, for 10 years and always found her work liberating and satisfying. "It's me as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she said.

"People think it's strange but I don't see it any differently to a personal trainer or an accountant giving advice," she added.

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 founder of a technology firm, but it took 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 sleepless nights, research and "bugging people" who know about 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 accessed by a viewer, it is automatically embedded with an undetectable digital marker which is unique to them.

This covert marker is embedded into the digital file of the image itself and can survive screenshots, being edited and being photographed with a different camera.

It ensures that if you find out your image has been circulated without your consent, as long as the platform 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 legal steps can follow.

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

Proven Technology, New Application

"This technology is already in use in the film industry, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not an untested concept, it's just a novel use and a new system," said Madelaine.

"And we've tested it, we're collaborating 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 test it at scale," she added.

She expressed hope she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential intimate image abusers.

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An advocate from a support service said she had seen first-hand the panic, distress and self-blame this abuse inflicted on 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 guilt can really be reinforced so it's really important that the response a victim receives is that they have not done anything wrong," she stated.

She noted it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, adding: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing 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."

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

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

She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of this crime from the survivors to the perpetrators. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an image to someone," stated Jess.

"However, it is illegal to circulate that without consent and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she affirmed.