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BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your typical tech founder. After repeated 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 unapologetic of the pictures, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were weaponized by an individual who I don't know," stated Madelaine.

Just over a year after founding her company, Image Angel, which employs covert digital tracking to track perpetrators, has won several awards and was cited as exemplary procedure in an government-commissioned study recently.

This marks a significant shift from her background in providing consensual sexual encounters, dominating clients in the realms of BDSM.

The Pervasive Problem

Intimate image abuse, commonly known as image-based abuse, is a criminal offence with offenders facing up to two years in prison.

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

Madelaine, thirty-seven, said survivors endured feelings of humiliation. "I think a lot of people will comment, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she said.

"I demand respect, 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 in my community 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 someone being an abuser."

A Unique Journey

Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for 10 years and consistently found her work liberating and satisfying. "I am as a woman in control, a woman who is empowered and strong, giving my body as a treat to someone of my own volition," she said.

"People think it's unusual but I view it similarly to a nutritionist or an financial advisor giving advice," she added.

She embraces 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 tech company, but it took someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the flaws and the modifications that were necessary," she explained.

She insisted 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 accessed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an undetectable digital marker which is specific to that viewer.

This covert marker is embedded into the copy of the image itself and can withstand screenshots, being edited and being re-captured with a secondary device.

It ensures that if you discover your image has been circulated without your consent, providing the service you used has the technology embedded, the sharer's information will be encoded in the image and can be retrieved by a forensic expert so legal steps can follow.

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

An Established Method for a New Purpose

"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 new system," explained Madelaine.

"And we've tested it, we're partnering 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 deploy it widely," she added.

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

Changing the Narrative

An expert from a leading helpline said she had seen directly the panic, distress and self-blame intimate image abuse caused for victims.

"When that guilt is compounded by a misinformed friend 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 really important that the support a victim receives 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, saying: "It is really important to have this comprehensive strategy towards addressing tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone, not just support services, it needs to be this multi-layered response."

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 beginning of multiple violations Jess endured in her youth that would later shape 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 passionate about eliminating the shame of this crime from the victims to the offenders. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an photo to someone," said Jess.

"But it is a crime to distribute that non-consensually and I think that should always be where the responsibility is," she concluded.