🔗 Share this article Transitioning from Dominatrix to Tech Founder: An Unconventional Fight Against Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas explains her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her private photos shared without consent gives her a distinct perspective as a technology entrepreneur. BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas represents far from your typical tech founder. Following repeated occurrences of clients distributing her intimate photographs, she was "angry enough to take action" and looked to technology for a solution. "These were beautiful pictures, I'm not ashamed of the photographs, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were weaponized by someone who I don't know," stated Madelaine. Madelaine has won multiple accolades such as the Innovation in Tech Safety award at a prominent safety summit. Just over a year since launching her venture, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to identify perpetrators, has won several awards and was recommended as best practice in an independent pornography review earlier this year. This marks a significant shift from her background in providing consensual sexual encounters, dominating clients in the realms of kink and bondage. A Widespread Issue Intimate image abuse, commonly known as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with perpetrators risking two years in prison. It is not at all an issue exclusively faced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A report indicates that approximately 1.42% of the UK female population is impacted by intimate image abuse on an annual basis. Madelaine, 37, explained survivors lived with shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will say, 'you shared a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she noted. "I demand respect, I expect consideration, and I expect confidence, and I don't see why those are negotiable," she continued. "The fact that those images could be subsequently distributed where I live or with my loved ones and employed to cause them pain, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's an individual committing abuse." Madelaine aims her tech will prevent potential intimate image abusers without consent. An Unconventional Path Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, primarily online, for 10 years and consistently found her work empowering and fulfilling. "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 unusual but I don't see it any differently to a personal trainer or an accountant giving advice," she added. She embraces being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I understand that it's unconventional, it's crazy to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the loopholes and the changes that were necessary," she explained. She maintained she was not in the least bit techy 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 exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social networks and websites. When an image is accessed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an undetectable digital marker which is unique to them. This invisible watermark is encoded within the digital file of the image itself and can survive screen shots, being edited and being photographed with a secondary device. It ensures that if you discover your image has been shared non-consensually, as long as the service you used has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be encoded in the image and can be extracted by a forensic expert so legal steps can follow. Currently, one service has adopted her tech and she's in discussions 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 new system," said Madelaine. "We have validated it, we're partnering 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 test it at scale," she added. She said she hoped the technology would also act as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators. Changing the Narrative An expert from a leading helpline commented she had seen directly the panic, distress and self-blame intimate image abuse caused for victims. "If that self-blame is reinforced by a uninformed acquaintance or service 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 committed no error," she emphasized. She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to bring about change, saying: "It is really important to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling tech facilitated 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." Both women have been victims of experiencing their intimate images distributed without their consent. TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when images of her in her underwear were shared around her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess experienced in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning. "It took so long, an excessive amount of time for someone to tell me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," recalled Jess. She too is dedicated to removing the stigma of this crime from the survivors to the offenders. "There is no offence 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 affirmed.