🔗 Share this article Transitioning from Professional Dominatrix to Technology Entrepreneur: An Unconventional Fight Against Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas explains her personal experience of having her private photos shared without consent provides her a unique insight as a tech founder. Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas represents not at all your standard startup entrepreneur. Following multiple instances of individuals distributing her intimate photographs, she was "angry enough to do something about it" and turned to tech solutions for answers. "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," stated Madelaine. Madelaine has received several awards including the Innovation in Tech Safety award at a major safety summit. Little over a year since founding her venture, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to track abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study recently. This marks quite a departure from her background in offering BDSM services, dominating clients in the world of BDSM. A Widespread Issue Intimate image abuse, often referred to as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with perpetrators facing up to two years in prison. It is not at all an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A report indicates that around 1.42% of the women in the UK is impacted by this form of abuse each year. Madelaine, thirty-seven, said survivors lived with feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you shared a private image out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she said. "I demand dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, and I fail to understand why those are up for debate," she added. "The reality that those images could be then shared where I live or with people I love and used to hurt them, that's unacceptable, that's not a decision I made, that's not an error on my part, that's someone being an abuser." Madelaine aims her technology will prevent would-be intimate image abusers non-consensually. An Unconventional Path Madelaine has been working as a dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and consistently found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a woman in control, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she said. "Some believe it's strange but I don't see it any differently to a personal trainer or an financial advisor providing a service," she remarked. She embraces 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 required someone who has been through it to understand the flaws and the modifications that needed to happen," she stated. She maintained she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after a lot of sleepless nights, investigation and "bugging people" who know about tech. Understanding the Tech Solution Image Angel can be used by any online platform where people exchange photos, for instance dating apps, social networks and online sites. When an image is accessed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an invisible forensic watermark which is unique to them. This invisible watermark is embedded into the digital file of the image itself and can withstand screenshots, being edited and being re-captured with a secondary device. It means that if you discover your image has been circulated without your consent, providing the service you posted it on has the system integrated, the viewer's details will be encoded in 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. An Established Method for a New Purpose "The system is already in use in Hollywood, it already exists in live television 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 firm that has 30 years experience in developing technology so we are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she continued. She expressed hope she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators. Changing the Narrative An expert from a leading helpline commented she had seen directly the trauma and guilt intimate image abuse inflicted on victims. "When that guilt is compounded by a uninformed acquaintance or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be reinforced so it's crucial that the support a victim receives is that they have not done anything wrong," she emphasized. She noted it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, saying: "It is vital to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling technology-enabled 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." Both women have been victims of experiencing their intimate images distributed without their consent. TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when images of her in her underwear were shared around her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess experienced in her teens and 20s that would later inform her advocacy work. "It took so long, too long for someone to say to me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," recalled Jess. She too is passionate about removing the stigma of this crime from the survivors to the perpetrators. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an image to someone," said Jess. "However, it is illegal to circulate that without consent and I think that should always be where the blame is," she affirmed.