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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your standard startup entrepreneur. After multiple instances of clients leaking her intimate photographs, she was "sufficiently outraged to take action" and looked to technology for a solution.

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

Little over a year since founding her company, Image Angel, which uses invisible forensic watermarking to track abusers, has won several awards and was cited as exemplary procedure in an independent pornography review earlier this year.

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

The Pervasive Problem

Intimate image abuse, commonly known as revenge porn, is a punishable crime with offenders risking two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A report indicates that approximately 1.42% of the women in the UK is affected by this form of abuse each year.

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

"I demand dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are up for debate," she added. "The fact that those images could be subsequently distributed in my community or with my loved ones and employed to cause them pain, that's unacceptable, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's someone being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been working as a dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade and always found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a woman in control, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she said.

"Some believe it's strange but I view it similarly to a personal trainer or an accountant giving advice," she remarked.

She embraces being something of an anomaly in the technology sector. "I understand that it's unconventional, it's crazy to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a technology firm, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the flaws and the modifications that were necessary," she stated.

She maintained she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after a lot of sleepless nights, investigation and "consulting experts" who know about tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people share images, for instance dating apps, social media and online sites.

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

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

It ensures that if you find out 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 extracted by a data recovery specialist so action can be taken.

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

An Established Method for a New Purpose

"The system already exists in Hollywood, it already exists in sports broadcasting so this is not brand new technology, it's just a novel use and a new system," explained Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're partnering with a firm that has 30 years experience in tech development so we are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she continued.

She expressed hope she hoped the technology would also act as a preventive measure to would-be 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.

"When that guilt is reinforced by a uninformed acquaintance or service who says 'what did you expect?' that guilt can really be deepened so it's crucial that the response a victim receives is that they have committed no error," she stated.

She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, adding: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to solve this problem, not just support services, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in a state of undress were circulated within her local community. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess experienced in her teens and 20s that would later inform her advocacy work.

"It took so long, too long for someone to say to me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," said Jess.

She too is passionate about eliminating the shame of intimate image abuse from the victims to the offenders. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an photo to someone," stated Jess.

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