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Professional dominatrix Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your average startup entrepreneur. After repeated occurrences of individuals leaking her private explicit images, she was "angry enough to take action" and looked to tech solutions for answers.

"These were striking images, I'm unapologetic of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the way that they were weaponized by an individual who I have never met," said Madelaine.

Just over a year since launching her company, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to identify perpetrators, has won several awards and was recommended as exemplary procedure in an independent pornography review earlier this year.

This marks a significant shift from her previous career in offering consensual sexual encounters, dominating clients in the world of BDSM.

The Pervasive Problem

Intimate image abuse, commonly known as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with perpetrators facing up to two years in prison.

It is not at all an issue uniquely experienced by those in the adult entertainment sector. A report indicates that around 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse each year.

Madelaine, 37, explained survivors lived with shame and stigma. "In my view a lot of people will say, 'you put a private image out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she said.

"I expect respect, I expect respect, and I expect confidence, and I fail to understand why those are up for debate," she continued. "The fact 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 someone committing abuse."

An Unconventional Path

Madelaine has been working as a professional dominatrix, mainly online, for a decade and always found her work empowering and fulfilling. "I am as a dominant woman, a woman who is confident and powerful, offering my body as a gift to someone because I wish to," she described.

"Some believe it's unusual but I don't see it any differently to a nutritionist or an financial advisor giving advice," she added.

She embraces being something of an anomaly in the technology sector. "I understand that it's unconventional, it's crazy to think that someone who was a dominatrix is now a creator of a tech company, but it required someone who has experienced it firsthand to know the loopholes and the changes that were necessary," she explained.

She maintained she was not in the least bit techy and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, research and "bugging people" 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 networks and online sites.

When an image is viewed 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 survive screenshots, being altered and being re-captured with a different camera.

It means that if you discover your image has been shared without your consent, providing the platform you posted it on has the system integrated, the sharer's information will be hidden within the image and can be retrieved by a forensic expert so legal steps can follow.

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

An Established Method for a New Purpose

"The system already exists in Hollywood, it already exists in sports broadcasting 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 company that has 30 years experience 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 believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential intimate image abusers.

Removing Stigma, Shifting Blame

An expert from a leading helpline said she had seen directly the trauma and guilt this abuse caused for victims.

"If that self-blame is reinforced by a misinformed friend or professional who says 'what did you expect?' that self blame can really be deepened so it's really important that the response somebody is provided with is that they have committed no error," she emphasized.

She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was leveraging her ordeal to bring about change, saying: "It is really important to have this multi-layered approach towards tackling tech facilitated gender-based abuse, because no one tool is going to be able to solve this problem, no one helpline, 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 circulated within her town. It was the beginning of multiple violations Jess experienced in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning.

"It required years, an excessive amount of time for someone to say to me, 'it wasn't your fault' and 'that was wrong'," recalled Jess.

She too is dedicated to eliminating the shame of intimate image abuse from the survivors to the perpetrators. "There is no offence to willingly share an image to someone," stated Jess.

"But it is a crime to distribute that without consent and I think that should invariably be where the blame is," she concluded.