🔗 Share this article From Dominatrix to Technology Entrepreneur: A Unique Battle Against Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas explains her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her intimate images leaked provides her a unique insight as a technology entrepreneur. Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your typical tech founder. Following multiple instances of clients distributing her intimate photographs, she felt "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 way that they were weaponized by someone who I don't know," stated Madelaine. Madelaine has won several awards including the Innovation in Tech Safety award at a prominent safety summit. Little over a year since founding her company, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to track abusers, has won several awards and was recommended as best practice in an independent pornography review recently. This marks a significant shift from her previous career in providing consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the realms of BDSM. A Widespread Issue Intimate image abuse, often referred to as image-based abuse, is a criminal offence with offenders risking two years in prison. It is far from an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A report suggests that approximately 1.42% of the women in the UK is impacted by intimate image abuse each year. Madelaine, thirty-seven, said victims endured shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you shared a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she said. "I expect dignity, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are up for debate," she added. "The fact that those images could be subsequently distributed in my community or with people I love and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's someone committing abuse." Madelaine hopes her technology will prevent potential individuals from sharing photos non-consensually. A Unique Journey Madelaine has been practicing as a professional dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering my body as a treat 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 accountant providing a service," 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 creator of a tech company, but it required someone who has been through it to know the loopholes and the modifications that needed to happen," she stated. She insisted she was not technically inclined and was managed to build her company after many late nights, research and "bugging people" who understand tech. Understanding the Tech Solution Image Angel can be used by any digital service where people share images, for instance dating apps, social networks and websites. When an image is viewed 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 different camera. It means that if you find out your image has been shared non-consensually, as long as the platform you posted it on has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be hidden within the image and can be retrieved by a data recovery specialist so action can be taken. Currently, 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 brand new technology, it's just a novel use and a new system," said Madelaine. "We have validated it, we're partnering with a firm that has decades of expertise in tech development so we know that this is solid and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she continued. 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 first-hand the trauma and guilt intimate image abuse caused for victims. "When that guilt is reinforced by a uninformed acquaintance or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's crucial that the response somebody is provided with is that they have not done anything wrong," she emphasized. She noted it was inspiring that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, saying: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort." Both women have been victims of having their intimate images distributed non-consensually. TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in a state of undress were shared around her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her youth that would later inform her women's rights campaigning. "It took so long, an excessive amount of time for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that was wrong'," said Jess. She too is passionate about eliminating the shame of intimate image abuse from the victims to the perpetrators. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an photo 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 affirmed.