🔗 Share this article Transitioning from Dominatrix to Tech Founder: A Unique Fight To Combat Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas states her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her private photos shared without consent provides her a distinct perspective as a tech founder. BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your typical tech founder. Following repeated instances of clients distributing her intimate photographs, she was "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and looked to technology for answers. "Those were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the way that they were used against me by someone who I have never met," said Madelaine. Madelaine has won several awards including the Innovation in Tech Safety award at a major industry conference. Just over a year after launching her venture, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to identify perpetrators, has won several awards and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study recently. This represents a significant shift from her background in providing BDSM services, working with clients in the world of BDSM. A Widespread Issue Intimate image abuse, commonly known as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with offenders risking two years in prison. It is far from an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A study indicates that approximately 1.42% of the women in the UK is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis. Madelaine, 37, explained survivors endured feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she noted. "I expect respect, I expect consideration, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are up for debate," she added. "The fact that those images could be subsequently distributed in my community or with my loved ones 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 committing abuse." Madelaine hopes her tech will prevent would-be individuals from sharing photos non-consensually. A Unique Journey Madelaine has been practicing as a professional dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "It's me as a woman in control, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a gift to someone because I wish to," she said. "People think it's strange but I view it similarly to a personal trainer or an accountant providing a service," she remarked. She welcomes being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I understand that it's bizarre, it's remarkable to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a technology firm, but it took someone who has been through it to understand the flaws and the changes that needed to happen," she stated. She insisted she was not technically inclined and was managed to build her company after many late nights, investigation and "bugging people" who understand 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 websites. When an image is viewed by a viewer, it is automatically embedded with an invisible forensic watermark which is specific to that viewer. This invisible watermark is embedded into the digital file of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being altered and being re-captured with a secondary device. It means that if you find out your image has been circulated non-consensually, as long as the platform you used has the technology embedded, the viewer's details will be hidden within the image and can be extracted by a data recovery specialist so legal steps can follow. Currently, one service has adopted her tech and she's in talks with many others. Proven Technology, New Application "The system already exists in the film industry, it already exists in sports broadcasting 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 collaborating with a firm that has 30 years experience in developing technology so we are confident that this is reliable 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 would-be intimate image abusers. Changing the Narrative An advocate from a leading helpline commented she had seen directly the trauma and guilt this abuse inflicted on victims. "If that self-blame is compounded by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that guilt can really be deepened so it's crucial that the support 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 bring about change, adding: "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 tackle this alone, no one helpline, it needs to be this integrated effort." Madelaine Thomas and TV presenter Jess Davies have experienced experiencing their intimate images shared without their consent. TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when photographs of her in a state of undress were circulated within her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured in her teens and 20s that would later inform her advocacy work. "It required years, an excessive amount of time for someone to tell me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," said Jess. She too is dedicated to removing the stigma of this crime from the survivors to the offenders. "There is no offence to consensually send an photo to someone," said Jess. "However, it is illegal to distribute that without consent and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she concluded.