🔗 Share this article From BDSM Practitioner to Tech Founder: A Unique Campaign Against Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas says her personal experience of having her intimate images leaked provides her a distinct perspective as a technology entrepreneur. Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas is not at all your typical startup entrepreneur. Following multiple instances of clients distributing her intimate photographs, she was "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and turned to tech solutions for a solution. "Those were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm embarrassed of the way that they were used against me by an individual who I don't know," explained Madelaine. Madelaine has received several awards such as the Tech Safety Innovation award at a prominent safety summit. Little over a year after founding her venture, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to track perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as exemplary procedure in an independent pornography review recently. This represents quite a departure from her background in providing BDSM services, dominating clients in the realms of BDSM. A Widespread Issue The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as revenge porn, is a punishable crime with offenders risking two years in prison. It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A study indicates that around 1.42% of the women in the UK is impacted by this form of abuse each year. Madelaine, 37, said victims endured shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she noted. "I demand dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, and I fail to understand why those are negotiable," she added. "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 being an abuser." Madelaine hopes her tech will prevent potential individuals from sharing photos without consent. A Unique Journey Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and consistently found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a woman in control, a woman who is confident and powerful, giving my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she described. "Some believe it's unusual but I view it similarly to a personal trainer or an financial advisor giving advice," she remarked. She embraces being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I understand that it's bizarre, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it required someone who has been through it to understand the flaws and the changes that needed to happen," she stated. She insisted she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, investigation and "consulting experts" who know about tech. How Does the Technology Work? Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people exchange photos, for instance dating apps, social networks and online sites. When an image is viewed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an invisible forensic watermark which is unique to them. This invisible watermark is embedded into the copy of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being edited and being photographed with a secondary device. It ensures 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 action can be taken. To date, one service has implemented her tech and she's in discussions with several more. Proven Technology, New Application "The system already exists in Hollywood, it is employed in live television so this is not an untested concept, it's just a novel use and a different framework," said Madelaine. "We have validated it, we're partnering with a company that has 30 years experience in tech development 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 hoped the technology would also act as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators. Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame An expert from a leading helpline said she had seen directly the panic, distress and self-blame intimate image abuse inflicted on victims. "If that self-blame is compounded by a misinformed friend or service who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that self blame can really be reinforced so it's crucial that the support somebody is provided with is that they have not done anything wrong," she emphasized. She noted it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to create solutions, adding: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling technology-enabled abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to solve this problem, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort." Madelaine Thomas and TV presenter Jess Davies have been victims of experiencing their private photos distributed without their consent. TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in her underwear were shared around her local community. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her youth that would later inform her women's rights campaigning. "It required years, too long for someone to tell 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. "There is no offence to willingly share an image to someone," stated Jess. "However, it is illegal to circulate that without consent and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she affirmed.