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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas is far from your typical startup entrepreneur. After multiple occurrences of individuals distributing her private explicit images, she was "sufficiently outraged to take action" and turned to technology for a solution.

"Those were striking images, I'm not ashamed of the photographs, I'm ashamed of the manner that they were used against me by someone who I have never met," said Madelaine.

Just over a year since launching her venture, Image Angel, which employs covert digital tracking to track abusers, has won several awards and was cited as best practice in an government-commissioned study earlier this year.

This marks quite a departure from her background in providing BDSM services, working with clients in the world of kink and bondage.

A Widespread Issue

Intimate image abuse, commonly known as revenge porn, is a criminal offence with offenders risking two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the sex industry. A report indicates that around 1.42% of the UK female population is impacted by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.

Madelaine, 37, explained survivors endured feelings of humiliation. "In my view a lot of people will say, 'you shared a private image out on the internet, what do you anticipate?'," she noted.

"I demand respect, 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 in my community or with people I love and used to hurt them, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not my mistake, that's an individual committing abuse."

An Unconventional Path

Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, primarily online, for 10 years and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a woman in control, a woman who is empowered and strong, offering my body as a treat to someone because I wish to," she said.

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

She embraces being a unique figure in the world of tech. "I understand that it's bizarre, 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 been through it to understand the flaws and the changes that needed to happen," she explained.

She maintained she was not in the least bit techy and was managed to build her company after many late nights, research and "consulting experts" who understand tech.

How Does the Technology Work?

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

When an image is viewed by a viewer, it is seamlessly tagged with an invisible forensic watermark which is unique to them.

This invisible watermark is encoded within the copy of the image itself and can withstand screen shots, being edited and being re-captured with a secondary device.

It ensures that if you discover your image has been circulated without your consent, as long as the service you used has the technology embedded, the viewer's details will be hidden within the image and can be retrieved by a data recovery specialist so action can be taken.

To date, one service has adopted her tech and she's in talks with several more.

Proven Technology, New Application

"The system is already in use in Hollywood, it is employed in sports broadcasting so this is not an untested concept, it's just a new application and a different framework," explained Madelaine.

"We have validated it, we're collaborating with a company that has decades of expertise in developing technology so we are confident that this is solid and what we now need to do is test it at scale," she added.

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

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An advocate from a support service commented she had seen first-hand the panic, distress and self-blame this abuse caused for victims.

"If that self-blame is reinforced by a misinformed friend or service who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's really important that the response 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 vital to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling technology-enabled abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to tackle this alone, not just support services, 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 town. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured in her teens and 20s 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 was wrong'," recalled Jess.

She too is passionate about eliminating the shame of this crime from the survivors to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to willingly share an image to someone," said Jess.

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