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BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas represents far from your average tech founder. Following multiple occurrences of clients leaking her intimate photographs, she was "angry enough to take action" and looked to tech solutions for a solution.

"These were striking images, I'm not ashamed of the pictures, I'm ashamed of the way that they were used against me by someone who I have never met," explained Madelaine.

Just over a year after founding her venture, Image Angel, which employs invisible forensic watermarking to identify perpetrators, has garnered significant recognition and was cited as exemplary procedure in an independent pornography review earlier this year.

This represents quite a departure from her background in providing BDSM services, working with clients in the realms of BDSM.

The Pervasive Problem

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

It is far from an issue exclusively faced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A study indicates that approximately 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, 37, explained survivors lived with feelings of humiliation. "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 dignity, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I don't see why those are up for debate," she continued. "The reality that those images could be then shared where I live or with my loved ones and employed to cause them pain, that's beyond, that's not a decision I made, that's not my mistake, that's an individual being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been practicing as a dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am 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.

"Some believe it's strange but I don't see it any differently to a personal trainer or an accountant giving advice," she added.

She welcomes being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I know that it's unconventional, it's remarkable to think that an individual who was a dominatrix is now a founder of a technology firm, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to understand the flaws and the modifications that needed to happen," she explained.

She insisted she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "bugging people" who know about tech.

Understanding the Tech Solution

Image Angel can be implemented on any online platform where people share images, for instance dating apps, social networks and websites.

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

This invisible watermark is encoded within the copy of the image itself and can survive screenshots, being altered and being re-captured with a secondary device.

It means that if you discover your image has been shared non-consensually, providing the platform you used has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be encoded in the image and can be extracted by a forensic expert so action can be taken.

Currently, one platform has adopted her tech and she's in discussions with several more.

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system is already in use in Hollywood, it already exists in sports broadcasting so this is not brand new technology, it's just a new application 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 are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she added.

She expressed hope she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators.

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An advocate from a support service commented she had seen first-hand the trauma and guilt intimate image abuse caused for victims.

"If that self-blame is reinforced by a misinformed friend or service who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that guilt can really be reinforced so it's really important that the support a victim receives is that they have not done anything wrong," she emphasized.

She noted it was inspiring that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, adding: "It is really important to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling technology-enabled abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone, no one helpline, it needs to be this integrated effort."

TV presenter Jess Davies was just 15 when images of her in a state of undress were shared around her local community. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured in her youth that would later shape her advocacy work.

"It took so long, an excessive amount of time for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that was wrong'," recalled Jess.

She too is passionate about removing the stigma of this crime from the survivors to the offenders. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an image to someone," said Jess.

"However, it is illegal to distribute that without consent and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she affirmed.