🔗 Share this article Transitioning from Dominatrix to Tech Founder: A Unique Battle To Combat Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas says her personal experience of having her private photos shared without consent provides her a distinct perspective as a technology entrepreneur. Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies far from your standard tech founder. Following multiple instances of clients leaking her intimate photographs, she was "angry enough to take action" and turned to tech solutions for a solution. "These were beautiful pictures, I'm not ashamed of the photographs, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were used against me by an individual who I have never met," explained Madelaine. Madelaine has won several awards such as the Tech Safety Innovation award at a major industry conference. Little over a year since founding her company, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to identify abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study recently. This represents a significant shift from her background in offering BDSM services, dominating clients in the world of BDSM. A Widespread Issue Intimate image abuse, commonly known as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with perpetrators risking two years in prison. It is not at all an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A report suggests that approximately 1.42% of the women in the UK is impacted by this form of abuse each year. Madelaine, 37, said victims lived with shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will say, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she said. "I demand dignity, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are negotiable," she continued. "The reality that those images could be then shared in my community or with people I love and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's someone committing abuse." Madelaine hopes her technology will prevent potential individuals from sharing photos without consent. An Unconventional Path Madelaine has been working as a dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade and consistently found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is confident and powerful, giving 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 providing a service," she remarked. She welcomes being something of an anomaly in the technology sector. "I understand that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a tech company, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the loopholes and the changes that were necessary," she stated. She maintained she was not in the least bit techy and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "consulting experts" who know about tech. How Does the Technology Work? Image Angel can be implemented on any online platform where people share images, for instance social connection apps, social networks and websites. When an image is accessed by a user, it is seamlessly tagged with an undetectable digital marker 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 edited and being photographed with a different camera. It means that if you find out your image has been shared non-consensually, as long as the platform you posted it on has the technology embedded, the sharer's information will be encoded in the image and can be extracted by a forensic expert so action can be taken. To date, one service has implemented her tech and she's in talks with several more. Proven Technology, New Application "The system already exists in the film industry, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not brand new technology, it's just a new application and a different framework," said Madelaine. "And we've tested it, we're partnering 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 deploy it widely," she added. She said she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential intimate image abusers. Changing the Narrative An advocate from a leading helpline said she had seen first-hand the panic, distress and self-blame intimate image abuse caused for victims. "If that self-blame is compounded by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that guilt can really be reinforced so it's crucial that the response somebody is provided with 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 multi-layered approach 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." Both women have been victims of having their private photos distributed non-consensually. TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when photographs of her in a state of undress were circulated within her local community. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her teens and 20s that would later shape her advocacy work. "It required years, too long for someone to say to me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," 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 consensually send an image to someone," stated Jess. "But it is a crime to distribute that non-consensually and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she concluded.