🔗 Share this article From BDSM Practitioner to Technology Entrepreneur: A Unique Campaign To Combat Intimate Image Abuse Madelaine Thomas states her first-hand ordeal of experiencing her private photos shared without consent provides her a unique insight as a technology entrepreneur. BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your standard tech founder. After multiple occurrences of clients leaking her intimate photographs, she was "angry enough to take action" and looked to technology for answers. "Those were beautiful pictures, I'm not ashamed of the pictures, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were used against me by someone who I don't know," said Madelaine. Madelaine has received multiple accolades such as the Innovation in Tech Safety award at a major industry conference. Little over a year after launching her venture, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to track abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as best practice in an independent pornography review earlier this year. This marks a significant shift from her previous career in offering consensual sexual encounters, working with clients in the realms of BDSM. A Widespread Issue The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with offenders facing up to two years in prison. It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A study indicates that around 1.42% of the women in the UK is affected by intimate image abuse each year. Madelaine, 37, explained victims endured shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you shared a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she said. "I demand dignity, I expect respect, and I expect trust, and I don't see why those are negotiable," she added. "The fact that those images could be then shared 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 someone being an abuser." Madelaine aims her technology will deter potential intimate image abusers non-consensually. An Unconventional Path Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and consistently found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, offering my body as a gift to someone because I wish to," she described. "People think it's strange but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an accountant providing a service," she added. She welcomes being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I know that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that someone 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 changes that were necessary," she stated. She insisted she was not technically inclined and was managed to build her company after a lot of late nights, research and "consulting experts" who understand tech. Understanding the Tech Solution Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people share images, for instance social connection apps, social media and websites. When an image is accessed by a user, it is automatically embedded with an invisible forensic watermark which is specific to that viewer. This covert marker is encoded within the copy 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 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 action can be taken. To date, one platform has adopted her tech and she's in talks with many others. Proven Technology, New Application "The system is already in use in the film industry, it is employed 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 partnering with a company that has decades of expertise in developing technology so we know that this is reliable and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she continued. She expressed hope she hoped the technology would also act as a preventive measure to would-be intimate image abusers. Changing the Narrative An advocate from a leading helpline commented she had seen first-hand the panic, distress and self-blame this abuse inflicted on victims. "When that guilt is reinforced by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that guilt can really be reinforced so it's crucial that the response 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 create solutions, saying: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing tech facilitated abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to solve this problem, not just support services, it needs to be this multi-layered response." Both women have experienced experiencing their intimate images distributed without their consent. TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in her underwear were circulated within her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess experienced in her teens and 20s that would later inform her advocacy work. "It required years, too long for someone to tell me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," recalled Jess. She too is dedicated to removing the stigma of this crime from the survivors to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to willingly share an photo to someone," said Jess. "However, it is illegal to circulate that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the responsibility is," she concluded.