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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas represents far from your typical tech founder. After multiple occurrences of individuals leaking her intimate photographs, she felt "angry enough to take action" and looked to technology for answers.

"These were beautiful pictures, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were used against me by someone who I don't know," explained Madelaine.

Little over a year after launching her venture, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to track abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as best practice in an independent pornography review earlier this year.

This represents quite a departure from her background in providing consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the realms of kink and bondage.

The Pervasive Problem

The non-consensual sharing of private images, commonly known as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with offenders risking two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the sex industry. A study indicates that approximately 1.42% of the women in the UK is impacted by this form of abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, 37, explained survivors endured feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you shared a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she said.

"I demand dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, 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 unacceptable, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's an individual being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and always found her work liberating and satisfying. "It's me as a woman in control, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a treat to someone of my own volition," she described.

"Some believe it's strange but I view it similarly to a nutritionist or an accountant giving advice," she remarked.

She welcomes being something of an anomaly in the world of tech. "I know that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a tech company, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the loopholes 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, research and "bugging people" who understand tech.

How Does the Technology Work?

Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social networks and websites.

When an image is accessed by a user, it is automatically embedded with an undetectable digital marker which is unique to them.

This covert marker is embedded into the copy of the image itself and can survive screenshots, being altered and being photographed with a different camera.

It means that if you discover your image has been circulated without your consent, providing the platform you used has the system integrated, 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 implemented her tech and she's in talks with many others.

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system 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 different framework," explained Madelaine.

"And we've tested it, we're partnering with a company 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 continued.

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 said she had seen directly the trauma and guilt this abuse inflicted on victims.

"When that guilt is reinforced by a uninformed acquaintance or service who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that guilt can really be reinforced so it's really important that the response somebody is provided with is that they have committed no error," she stated.

She added it was inspiring that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, adding: "It is vital to have this multi-layered approach towards addressing 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 multi-layered response."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 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 inform her advocacy work.

"It took so long, an excessive amount of time for someone to say to me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," said Jess.

She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of intimate image abuse from the survivors to the offenders. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an image to someone," said Jess.

"However, it is illegal to distribute that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the blame is," she concluded.