🔗 Share this article From BDSM Practitioner to Tech Founder: An Unconventional Campaign To Combat Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas states her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her intimate images leaked offers her a unique insight as a technology entrepreneur. BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas represents not at all your typical startup entrepreneur. After repeated instances of individuals leaking her intimate photographs, she was "sufficiently outraged to take action" and turned to technology for answers. "These were striking images, I'm not ashamed of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were used against me by an individual who I have never met," explained Madelaine. Madelaine has received multiple accolades including the Innovation in Tech Safety award at a prominent safety summit. Little over a year since launching her venture, Image Angel, which employs covert digital tracking to track perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as exemplary procedure in an independent pornography review earlier this year. This marks quite a departure from her previous career in providing BDSM services, dominating clients in the world of kink and bondage. The Pervasive Problem The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with offenders risking two years in prison. It is far from an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A report suggests that around 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis. Madelaine, thirty-seven, explained victims lived with feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she noted. "I demand respect, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, and I don't see why those are negotiable," she continued. "The fact that those images could be then shared where I live or with people I love and used to hurt them, that's unacceptable, that's not a decision I made, that's not an error on my part, that's someone committing abuse." Madelaine hopes her technology will deter would-be individuals from sharing photos without consent. An Unconventional Path Madelaine has been working as a dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and consistently found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she said. "People think it's unusual but I view it similarly to a personal trainer or an financial advisor giving advice," she remarked. She welcomes being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I understand that it's bizarre, it's crazy 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 needed to happen," she explained. She maintained she was not in the least bit techy and was managed to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "consulting experts" who understand tech. How Does the Technology Work? Image Angel can be used by any digital service where people share images, for instance dating apps, social media and websites. When an image is accessed by a user, it is automatically embedded with an undetectable digital marker which is specific to that viewer. This invisible watermark is embedded into the copy of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being altered and being re-captured with a secondary device. It means that if you discover your image has been shared non-consensually, providing the service you used has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be hidden within the image and can be extracted by a data recovery specialist so legal steps can follow. To date, one service has implemented her tech and she's in talks with many others. Proven Technology, New Application "This technology is already in use in Hollywood, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not an untested concept, it's just a novel use and a different framework," said Madelaine. "We have validated it, we're partnering with a company that has 30 years experience in tech development so we are confident that this is reliable and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she added. She said she hoped the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators. Changing the Narrative An expert from a leading helpline commented she had seen directly the trauma and guilt 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 reinforced so it's really important that the response somebody is provided with is that they have not done anything wrong," she stated. She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to bring about change, saying: "It is really important to have this multi-layered approach towards addressing tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to solve this problem, no one helpline, it needs to be this multi-layered response." Madelaine Thomas and TV presenter Jess Davies have been victims of having their private photos shared non-consensually. TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when images of her in her underwear were shared around her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess experienced in her youth that would later shape her advocacy work. "It took so long, too long for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that was wrong'," said Jess. She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of this crime from the victims to the offenders. "There is no offence to consensually send an photo to someone," stated Jess. "However, it is illegal to circulate that non-consensually and I think that should invariably be where the responsibility is," she affirmed.