🔗 Share this article From Dominatrix to Technology Entrepreneur: A Unique Fight To Combat Revenge Porn Madelaine Thomas states her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her intimate images shared without consent provides her a unique insight as a tech founder. Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas is not at all your typical startup entrepreneur. Following repeated instances of clients distributing her intimate photographs, she was "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and turned to technology for answers. "These were beautiful pictures, I'm not ashamed of the pictures, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were weaponized by an individual who I have never met," explained Madelaine. Madelaine has received several awards such as the Innovation in Tech Safety award at a prominent industry conference. Little over a year since launching her company, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to track abusers, 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 previous career 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 image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with perpetrators risking two years in prison. It is far from an issue uniquely experienced by those in the sex industry. A report indicates that approximately 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by this form of abuse each year. Madelaine, thirty-seven, said survivors endured shame and stigma. "In my view a lot of people will say, 'you shared a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she said. "I demand respect, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are negotiable," she continued. "The fact that those images could be then shared in my community 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 an individual committing abuse." Madelaine aims her technology will prevent would-be intimate image abusers without consent. A Unique Journey Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade 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 unusual but I view it similarly to a personal trainer or an financial advisor providing a service," she remarked. She welcomes being something of an anomaly in the world of tech. "I know that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the loopholes and the changes that needed to happen," she stated. She insisted 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 used by any online platform where people exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social networks and websites. When an image is accessed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an undetectable digital marker which is specific to that viewer. This covert marker is encoded within the digital file of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being altered and being photographed with a different camera. It means that if you discover your image has been circulated without your consent, providing the service you used has the system integrated, the viewer's details will be encoded in the image and can be retrieved by a forensic expert so action can be taken. To date, one service has adopted her tech and she's in discussions with many others. Proven Technology, New Application "This technology already exists in Hollywood, it already exists in live television so this is not an untested concept, it's just a novel use and a different framework," said Madelaine. "And we've tested it, we're partnering with a company 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 added. She said she hoped the technology would also act as a preventive measure to potential intimate image abusers. Changing the Narrative An expert from a leading helpline said she had seen directly the trauma and guilt this abuse caused for victims. "If that self-blame is compounded by a misinformed friend or service who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's crucial that the support somebody is provided with is that they have not done anything wrong," she stated. She noted it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to bring about change, adding: "It is vital 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 integrated effort." Both women have been victims of experiencing their intimate images shared non-consensually. TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when photographs of her in her underwear were shared around her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured in her teens and 20s that would later shape her advocacy work. "It required years, too long for someone to tell me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," said Jess. She too is passionate about eliminating the shame of intimate image abuse from the survivors to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to willingly share an photo to someone," said Jess. "But it is a crime to distribute that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the blame is," she affirmed.