🔗 Share this article Transitioning from Professional Dominatrix to Technology Entrepreneur: A Unique Fight To Combat Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas says her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her private photos leaked offers her a distinct perspective as a tech founder. BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your average startup entrepreneur. Following multiple occurrences of individuals leaking her private explicit images, she felt "sufficiently outraged to take action" and looked to technology for answers. "Those were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm ashamed of the way that they were used against me by someone who I have never met," stated Madelaine. Madelaine has won multiple accolades such as the Tech Safety Innovation award at a major safety summit. Little over a year after launching her venture, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to identify perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as exemplary procedure in an independent pornography review earlier this year. This marks quite a departure from her previous career in offering BDSM services, working with clients in the world of BDSM. A Widespread Issue Intimate image abuse, often referred to as revenge porn, is a punishable crime with offenders facing up to two years in prison. It is far from an issue uniquely experienced by those in the sex industry. A study suggests that approximately 1.42% of the women in the UK is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis. Madelaine, thirty-seven, said victims lived with feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she said. "I expect respect, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, and I don't see why those are up for debate," she continued. "The fact 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 my mistake, that's an individual being an abuser." Madelaine aims her technology will deter potential intimate image abusers without consent. An Unconventional Path Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, primarily online, for 10 years and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a treat to someone because I wish to," she described. "People think it's unusual but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an financial advisor providing a service," she remarked. She welcomes being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I understand that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a technology firm, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the loopholes and the modifications that were necessary," she stated. She insisted she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after many late nights, investigation and "bugging people" who know about tech. How Does the Technology Work? Image Angel can be used by any digital service 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 covert marker is encoded within the copy of the image itself and can survive screenshots, being altered and being photographed with a secondary device. It ensures that if you find out your image has been circulated without your consent, as long as the platform you used has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be encoded in the image and can be extracted by a data recovery specialist so legal steps can follow. Currently, one service has implemented her tech and she's in talks with many others. An Established Method for a New Purpose "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 partnering with a firm that has decades of expertise in developing technology so we know 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 preventive measure to potential intimate image abusers. Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame An expert from a support service 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 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that self blame can really be reinforced so it's really important that the support a victim receives is that they have not done anything wrong," she stated. She noted it was inspiring that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to create solutions, saying: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling technology-enabled gender-based abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to solve this problem, no one helpline, it needs to be this integrated effort." Madelaine Thomas and TV presenter Jess Davies have been victims of experiencing their private photos shared non-consensually. TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when photographs of her in a state of undress were circulated within her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess endured in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning. "It took so long, too long for someone to say to me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that was wrong'," recalled Jess. She too is passionate about removing the stigma of intimate image abuse from the victims to the perpetrators. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an photo to someone," stated Jess. "However, it is illegal to distribute that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the responsibility is," she concluded.