From Professional Dominatrix to Tech Founder: A Unique Campaign Against Intimate Image Abuse

BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas embodies far from your typical startup entrepreneur. After multiple instances of clients distributing her intimate photographs, she was "sufficiently outraged to take action" and turned to technology for a solution.

"These were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were used against me by an individual who I don't know," explained Madelaine.

Little over a year since launching her company, Image Angel, which employs covert digital tracking to track abusers, has won several awards and was recommended as best practice in an government-commissioned study recently.

This represents a significant shift from her background in offering consensual sexual encounters, dominating clients in the realms of BDSM.

A Widespread Issue

Intimate image abuse, commonly known as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with perpetrators facing up to two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the sex industry. A report suggests that approximately 1.42% of the UK female population is impacted by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, thirty-seven, said survivors endured shame and stigma. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you put a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she said.

"I demand respect, I expect consideration, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are up for debate," she added. "The reality that those images could be subsequently distributed where I live or with people I love and employed to cause them pain, that's beyond, that's not a decision I made, that's not an error on my part, that's an individual committing abuse."

An Unconventional Path

Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, primarily online, for 10 years 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 gift to someone because I wish to," 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 added.

She welcomes being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I understand 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 took someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the loopholes and the changes that were necessary," she stated.

She maintained she was not technically inclined and was managed to build her company after many late nights, investigation and "bugging people" who understand 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 accessed by a user, it is automatically embedded with an undetectable digital marker which is unique to them.

This invisible watermark is embedded into the digital file of the image itself and can survive screen shots, being edited and being re-captured with a secondary device.

It means that if you find out your image has been circulated non-consensually, as long as the service you posted it on has the system integrated, the viewer's details will be encoded in the image and can be retrieved by a data recovery specialist so legal steps can follow.

To date, one service has adopted her tech and she's in discussions with many others.

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system is already in use in the film industry, it already exists in sports broadcasting so this is not an untested concept, it's just a novel use and a different framework," explained Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're partnering with a firm that has 30 years experience in developing technology so we know that this is solid and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she added.

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

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An expert from a leading helpline said she had seen directly the panic, distress and self-blame this abuse inflicted on victims.

"If that self-blame 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 not done anything wrong," she emphasized.

She noted it was inspiring that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, saying: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to tackle this alone, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when images 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'," said Jess.

She too is dedicated to removing the stigma of this crime from the survivors to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to willingly share an image to someone," said Jess.

"But it is a crime to circulate that without consent and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she affirmed.