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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your standard startup entrepreneur. After repeated occurrences of clients distributing her private explicit images, she was "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and looked to tech solutions for answers.

"These were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the way that they were weaponized by someone who I have never met," said Madelaine.

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

This marks a significant shift from her background in offering consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the world of kink and bondage.

A Widespread Issue

The non-consensual sharing of private images, commonly known as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with offenders risking two years in prison.

It is far from an issue exclusively faced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A report suggests that around 1.42% of the women in the UK is impacted by this form of abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, 37, explained survivors endured feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will say, 'you put a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she noted.

"I expect respect, 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 then shared where I live or with my loved ones and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not an error on my part, that's someone committing abuse."

An Unconventional Path

Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, primarily online, for 10 years and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "It's me as a woman in control, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering my body as a treat to someone because I wish to," she said.

"People think it's strange but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an financial advisor providing a service," 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 an individual who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a tech company, but it took someone who has been through it to understand the flaws and the modifications that were necessary," she stated.

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

How Does the Technology Work?

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 embedded into the copy of the image itself and can survive 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 service 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 legal steps can follow.

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

An Established Method for a New Purpose

"The system 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," explained Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're collaborating with a firm that has 30 years experience in developing technology so we are confident that this is reliable and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she continued.

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

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An advocate from a leading helpline commented she had seen directly the trauma and guilt this abuse caused for victims.

"When that guilt is compounded by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that guilt can really be reinforced so it's crucial that the response somebody is provided with is that they have committed no error," she stated.

She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to create solutions, adding: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing tech facilitated 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 a state of undress were shared around her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess experienced in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning.

"It required years, too long for someone to say to me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," said Jess.

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

"However, it is illegal to distribute that non-consensually and I think that should invariably be where the blame is," she concluded.