🔗 Share this article From Professional Dominatrix to Tech Founder: An Unconventional Battle To Combat Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas says her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her intimate images shared without consent offers her a unique insight as a technology entrepreneur. BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas represents not at all your average tech founder. Following repeated instances of clients leaking her private explicit images, she was "angry enough to take action" and looked to technology for a solution. "Those were beautiful pictures, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were weaponized by someone who I don't know," said Madelaine. Madelaine has received multiple accolades including the Innovation in Tech Safety award at a major safety summit. Little over a year after founding her venture, Image Angel, which employs covert digital tracking to track abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study earlier this year. This marks a significant shift from her background in offering consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the world of BDSM. The Pervasive Problem The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as revenge porn, is a punishable crime with offenders risking two years in prison. It is far from an issue uniquely experienced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A report suggests that around 1.42% of the UK female population is impacted by this form of abuse on an annual basis. Madelaine, 37, said survivors endured shame and stigma. "In my view a lot of people will say, 'you put a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she said. "I expect respect, I expect respect, and I expect trust, and I don't see why those are up for debate," she added. "The fact that those images could be subsequently distributed where I live or with people I love and employed to cause them pain, that's beyond, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's someone being an abuser." Madelaine aims her tech will deter would-be intimate image abusers without consent. An Unconventional Path Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and consistently found her work empowering and fulfilling. "It's me as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a treat to someone because I wish to," she said. "People think it's unusual but I view it similarly to a personal trainer or an accountant giving advice," she added. She welcomes being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I understand that it's unconventional, it's crazy to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a technology firm, but it took someone who has been through it to know the loopholes and the changes that needed to happen," she stated. She insisted she was not in the least bit techy and was managed to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "consulting experts" who know about tech. Understanding the Tech Solution Image Angel can be implemented on any online platform where people exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social networks and online sites. When an image is viewed by a user, it is seamlessly tagged with an undetectable digital marker which is specific to that viewer. This invisible watermark is encoded within the digital file of the image itself and can withstand screenshots, being altered and being photographed with a secondary device. It means that if you find out your image has been shared non-consensually, as long as the service 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. Currently, one service has adopted her tech and she's in talks with many others. An Established Method for a New Purpose "This technology already exists in the film industry, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not an untested concept, it's just a new application and a different framework," explained Madelaine. "And we've tested it, we're collaborating with a firm 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 continued. She said she hoped the technology would also act as a preventive measure 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 caused for victims. "If that self-blame is reinforced by a uninformed acquaintance 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 committed no error," she stated. She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to create solutions, adding: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling technology-enabled gender-based 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." Madelaine Thomas and TV presenter Jess Davies have been victims of experiencing their private photos shared without their consent. TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in a state of undress were shared around her local community. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured in her teens and 20s that would later inform her women's rights campaigning. "It required years, too long for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that was wrong'," said Jess. She too is passionate about removing the stigma of this crime from the survivors to the offenders. "It isn't a crime to consensually send an photo to someone," said Jess. "But it is a crime to distribute that non-consensually and I think that should always be where the blame is," she concluded.