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BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas embodies far from your typical startup entrepreneur. Following multiple instances of individuals leaking her private explicit images, she felt "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and turned to tech solutions for a solution.

"These were beautiful pictures, I'm unapologetic of the photographs, I'm embarrassed of the way that they were used against me by an individual who I don't know," said Madelaine.

Little over a year since launching her company, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to identify abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as exemplary procedure in an independent pornography review earlier this year.

This represents a significant shift from her background in providing BDSM services, dominating clients in the world of BDSM.

A Widespread Issue

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

It is not at all 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 affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, 37, said victims lived with 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 expect respect, I expect consideration, 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 people I love and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's someone committing abuse."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a woman in control, a woman who is empowered and strong, offering my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she said.

"People think it's strange but I view it similarly to a nutritionist or an accountant giving advice," she added.

She welcomes being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I understand that it's bizarre, it's remarkable to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a technology firm, but it took someone who has been through it to understand the flaws and the changes that needed to happen," she stated.

She maintained she was not in the least bit techy and was able to build her company after many late nights, investigation and "consulting experts" who understand tech.

How Does the Technology Work?

Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social networks and websites.

When an image is viewed by a viewer, it is automatically embedded with an invisible forensic watermark which is specific to that viewer.

This covert marker is embedded into the copy of the image itself and can withstand screenshots, being altered and being photographed with a different camera.

It means that if you discover your image has been shared non-consensually, providing the platform you used has the system integrated, the viewer's details will be hidden within the image and can be retrieved by a forensic expert so legal steps can follow.

To date, one platform has implemented her tech and she's in talks with many others.

An Established Method for a New Purpose

"This technology already exists in Hollywood, it already exists 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 partnering with a company that has decades of expertise in tech development so we are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she continued.

She expressed hope she believed the technology would also act as a preventive measure to potential perpetrators.

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An advocate from a support service commented she had seen directly the panic, distress and self-blame intimate image abuse caused for victims.

"If that self-blame is reinforced by a uninformed acquaintance or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's really important that the support a victim receives is that they have committed no error," she stated.

She added it was inspiring that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, saying: "It is really important to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling technology-enabled abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to tackle this alone, not just support services, it needs to be this multi-layered response."

TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when images of her in her underwear were circulated within her local community. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her teens and 20s that would later shape her women's rights campaigning.

"It required years, too long for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that was wrong'," recalled Jess.

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

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