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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas represents not at all your average tech founder. After multiple instances of clients distributing her intimate photographs, she felt "sufficiently outraged to do something about it" and turned to technology for answers.

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

Little over a year after launching her venture, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to identify abusers, has won several awards and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

This represents a significant shift from her previous career in offering BDSM services, working with clients in the world of BDSM.

The Pervasive Problem

The non-consensual sharing of private images, often referred to as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with offenders risking two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the sex industry. A report suggests that approximately 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse each year.

Madelaine, 37, explained victims lived with shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will say, 'you shared a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she noted.

"I expect respect, 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 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 being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade and consistently found her work empowering and fulfilling. "It's me as a dominant woman, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a gift to someone of my own volition," she described.

"People think it's strange but I view it similarly to a personal trainer or an accountant giving advice," she added.

She welcomes being a unique figure in the technology sector. "I understand that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a technology firm, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the loopholes and the changes that were necessary," she stated.

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

How Does the Technology Work?

Image Angel can be used by any digital service where people exchange photos, for instance dating apps, social media and online sites.

When an image is viewed by a user, it is seamlessly tagged with an undetectable digital marker which is unique to them.

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

It means that if you discover your image has been shared without your consent, providing the service you posted it on has the technology embedded, the sharer's information will be encoded in the image and can be extracted by a data recovery specialist so action can be taken.

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

An Established Method for a New Purpose

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

"We have validated it, we're collaborating with a firm that has decades of expertise in tech development so we know that this is solid 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 preventive measure to potential intimate image abusers.

Changing the Narrative

An advocate from a leading helpline said she had seen directly the trauma and guilt intimate image abuse inflicted on victims.

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

She added it was inspiring that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, adding: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling technology-enabled gender-based abuse, because a single solution is going to be able to solve this problem, no one helpline, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when photographs of her in a state of undress were shared around her local community. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured 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 was wrong'," recalled Jess.

She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of this crime from the survivors to the offenders. "There is no offence to consensually send an photo to someone," stated Jess.

"However, it is illegal to distribute that non-consensually and I think that should always be where the blame is," she concluded.