From Dominatrix to Technology Entrepreneur: An Unconventional Fight To Combat Intimate Image Abuse

Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas is not at all your standard startup entrepreneur. After repeated instances of clients distributing her private explicit images, she felt "sufficiently outraged to take action" and turned to technology for answers.

"These were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were used against me by someone who I have never met," said Madelaine.

Just over a year after launching her venture, Image Angel, which employs invisible forensic watermarking to track perpetrators, has won several awards and was recommended as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study recently.

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

A Widespread Issue

The non-consensual sharing of private images, commonly known as image-based abuse, is a criminal offence with offenders facing up to two years in prison.

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

Madelaine, thirty-seven, explained survivors endured feelings of humiliation. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you shared a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she said.

"I demand respect, I expect consideration, and I expect trust, and I don't see why those are up for debate," she continued. "The reality that those images could be subsequently distributed in my community or with people I love and employed to cause them pain, that's unacceptable, that's not a decision I made, that's not an error on my part, that's an individual committing abuse."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and consistently found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, offering my body as a treat to someone because I wish to," she described.

"People think it's unusual but I view it similarly to a nutritionist or an accountant providing a service," she added.

She welcomes being something of an anomaly in the technology sector. "I understand that it's bizarre, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a tech company, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the flaws and the modifications that needed to happen," she explained.

She maintained she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "consulting experts" who understand tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

Image Angel can be used by any online platform where people exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social media and websites.

When an image is viewed by a viewer, it is automatically embedded with an undetectable digital marker which is specific to that viewer.

This invisible watermark is encoded within the digital file of the image itself and can survive screenshots, 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 posted it on has the technology embedded, the sharer's information will be encoded in the image and can be retrieved by a forensic expert so legal steps can follow.

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

An Established Method for a New Purpose

"The system already exists in the film industry, it already exists in sports broadcasting so this is not brand new technology, it's just a new application and a new system," explained Madelaine.

"And we've tested it, we're collaborating with a company that has 30 years experience in tech development so we know that this is reliable and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she continued.

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

Changing the Narrative

An expert from a support service said she had seen directly the panic, distress and self-blame this abuse caused for victims.

"If that self-blame is reinforced by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be reinforced so it's really important that the support a victim receives is that they have not done anything wrong," she emphasized.

She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, saying: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing technology-enabled abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to tackle this alone, no one helpline, it needs to be this multi-layered response."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when images of her in a state of undress were circulated within her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning.

"It required years, an excessive amount of time for someone to tell me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," recalled Jess.

She too is passionate about eliminating the shame of this crime from the victims to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to consensually send an image to someone," stated Jess.

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