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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your average startup entrepreneur. After repeated instances of individuals distributing her intimate photographs, she was "angry enough to take action" and turned to tech solutions for answers.

"Those were striking images, I'm not ashamed of the pictures, I'm ashamed of the way that they were used against me by someone who I don't know," said Madelaine.

Just over a year after launching her company, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to track abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as exemplary procedure in an independent pornography review recently.

This represents a significant shift from her background in offering BDSM services, working with clients in the world of BDSM.

A Widespread Issue

The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as revenge porn, is a punishable crime with perpetrators risking two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A report suggests that around 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, 37, said victims lived with shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you put a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she noted.

"I demand dignity, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I don't see why those are negotiable," she added. "The reality that those images could be subsequently distributed in my community or with my loved ones and employed to cause them pain, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not an error on my part, that's someone being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been practicing as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and consistently found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she described.

"People think it's unusual but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an financial advisor giving advice," she remarked.

She welcomes being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I understand that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the loopholes and the changes that were necessary," she stated.

She insisted she was not in the least bit techy and was able to build her company after a lot of late nights, research and "consulting experts" who know about tech.

How Does the Technology Work?

Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people share images, for instance dating apps, social networks and online sites.

When an image is accessed by a viewer, 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 screen shots, being altered and being photographed with a secondary device.

It means that if you find out your image has been circulated without your consent, providing the service you posted it on has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be encoded in the image and can be extracted by a data recovery specialist so action can be taken.

To date, one platform has implemented her tech and she's in discussions with several more.

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system is already in use in the film industry, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not brand new technology, it's just a novel use and a different framework," explained Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're collaborating 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 added.

She said she hoped the technology would also act as a preventive measure to would-be perpetrators.

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An advocate from a support service commented she had seen directly the trauma and guilt intimate image abuse inflicted on victims.

"If that self-blame is compounded by a uninformed acquaintance or service who says 'what did you expect?' 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 added it was inspiring that Madelaine was using her experience to bring about change, saying: "It is vital to have this multi-layered approach towards addressing tech facilitated gender-based 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."

TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when photographs of her in a state of undress were shared around her local community. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess endured in her youth that would later inform her advocacy work.

"It required years, too long for someone to tell me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," recalled Jess.

She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of this crime from the victims 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 concluded.