🔗 Share this article

Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas represents far from your average startup entrepreneur. Following multiple instances of individuals distributing her private explicit images, she was "sufficiently outraged to take action" and looked to technology for answers.

"These 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," stated Madelaine.

Just over a year since founding her company, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to identify perpetrators, has won several awards and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

This marks a significant shift from her previous career in providing BDSM services, working with clients in the realms of BDSM.

The Pervasive Problem

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

It is not at all an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A study indicates that around 1.42% of the UK female population is impacted by this form of abuse each year.

Madelaine, thirty-seven, explained victims endured feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will comment, 'you shared a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she noted.

"I expect dignity, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are negotiable," she added. "The reality that those images could be subsequently distributed where I live 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."

An Unconventional Path

Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, primarily online, for 10 years 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 of my own volition," she said.

"Some believe it's unusual but I view it similarly to a nutritionist or an financial advisor providing a service," she remarked.

She welcomes being a unique figure 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 understand the loopholes and the modifications that needed to happen," she stated.

She insisted she was not in the least bit techy and was able to build her company after many late nights, research and "bugging people" who know about tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

Image Angel can be implemented on any online platform where people exchange photos, for instance social connection apps, social networks and online sites.

When an image is accessed by a user, it is automatically embedded with an invisible forensic watermark which is unique to them.

This invisible watermark is embedded into the digital file of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being altered and being re-captured with a different camera.

It means that if you find out your image has been shared without your consent, providing the service you posted it on has the technology embedded, the viewer's details will be hidden within the image and can be extracted by a data recovery specialist so action can be taken.

Currently, one service has adopted her tech and she's in discussions with many others.

An Established Method for a New Purpose

"The system already exists in the film industry, it already exists in live television so this is not an untested concept, it's just a novel use and a different framework," explained Madelaine.

"And we've tested it, we're collaborating with a firm that has 30 years experience in developing technology so we are confident that this is reliable and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she added.

She said she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators.

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 uninformed acquaintance or professional who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's crucial that the support somebody is provided with is that they have committed no error," she stated.

She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to create solutions, adding: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing technology-enabled gender-based abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to solve this problem, no one helpline, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was only fifteen when images of her in a state of undress were shared around her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess endured in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning.

"It required years, too long for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," recalled Jess.

She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of this crime from the victims to the offenders. "It isn't a crime to consensually send an image to someone," said Jess.

"However, it is illegal to circulate that non-consensually and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she affirmed.