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BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas represents far from your typical startup entrepreneur. Following multiple occurrences of individuals distributing her intimate photographs, she was "angry enough to take action" and looked to technology for a solution.

"These were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm embarrassed of the way that they were weaponized by an individual who I don't know," said Madelaine.

Just over a year after launching her company, Image Angel, which employs invisible forensic watermarking to track perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as best practice in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

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

The Pervasive Problem

Intimate image abuse, commonly known as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with perpetrators facing up to two years in prison.

It is far from an issue uniquely experienced by those in the sex industry. A report suggests that around 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by this form of abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, thirty-seven, explained survivors endured feelings of humiliation. "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 respect, and I expect trust, and I don't see why those are negotiable," 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 beyond, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's an individual being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been practicing as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and always found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a woman in control, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she described.

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

She welcomes being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I know that it's bizarre, it's remarkable to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a tech company, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the flaws and the changes that were necessary," 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 know about tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

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 viewed by a user, it is automatically embedded 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 withstand screenshots, being altered and being photographed with a different camera.

It ensures that if you discover your image has been shared non-consensually, providing the platform you posted it on has the technology embedded, the sharer's information 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 discussions with several more.

Proven Technology, New Application

"This technology already exists in Hollywood, it is employed in live television so this is not brand new technology, it's just a new application and a new system," said Madelaine.

"And we've tested it, we're partnering with a firm that has decades of expertise in developing technology so we are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she continued.

She said she hoped the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators.

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An expert from a support service commented she had seen first-hand the trauma and guilt 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 deepened so it's crucial that the support somebody is provided with is that they have not done anything wrong," she stated.

She noted it was inspiring that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, adding: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling technology-enabled gender-based abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone, no one helpline, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when photographs 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 shape her women's rights campaigning.

"It took so long, an excessive amount of time 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 intimate image abuse 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 responsibility is," she affirmed.