BDSM practitioner Madelaine Thomas embodies not at all your typical startup entrepreneur. After repeated instances of individuals distributing her intimate photographs, she felt "angry enough to take action" and looked to technology for a solution.
"Those were striking images, I'm not ashamed of the pictures, I'm embarrassed of the manner that they were weaponized by an individual who I have never met," explained Madelaine.
Just over a year after founding her venture, Image Angel, which uses covert digital tracking to identify abusers, has garnered significant recognition and was recommended as best practice in an independent pornography review earlier this year.
This represents quite a departure from her previous career in offering BDSM services, dominating clients in the world of kink and bondage.
Intimate image abuse, often referred to as image-based abuse, is a punishable crime with offenders facing up to two years in prison.
It is not at all an issue exclusively faced by those in the sex industry. A report indicates that around 1.42% of the UK female population is affected by intimate image abuse on an annual basis.
Madelaine, thirty-seven, said victims endured shame and stigma. "I think a lot of people will say, 'you shared a saucy picture out on the internet, what do you expect?'," she said.
"I expect dignity, I expect consideration, and I expect confidence, and I don't see why those are negotiable," she continued. "The reality that those images could be then shared in my community or with my loved ones and employed to cause them pain, that's beyond, that's not my choice, that's not an error on my part, that's an individual being an abuser."
Madelaine has been working as a dominatrix, primarily online, for a decade and always 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 treat 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 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 founder of a technology firm, but it took someone who has been through it to know the loopholes and the changes that needed to happen," she stated.
She insisted she was not technically inclined and was able to build her company after many sleepless nights, investigation and "consulting experts" who understand tech.
Image Angel can be implemented on any digital service where people share images, for instance dating apps, social networks and websites.
When an image is accessed by a user, it is seamlessly tagged with an invisible forensic watermark which is unique to them.
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 find out your image has been circulated non-consensually, as long as 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 action can be taken.
Currently, one platform has implemented her tech and she's in talks with several more.
"The system is already in use in Hollywood, it is employed in live television so this is not brand new technology, it's just a novel use and a different framework," said Madelaine.
"And we've tested it, we're partnering with a company that has decades of expertise in tech development so we know that this is solid and what we now need to do is deploy it widely," she added.
She said she believed the technology would also act as a deterrent to potential perpetrators.
An advocate from a leading helpline commented she had seen directly the panic, distress and self-blame this abuse caused for victims.
"When that guilt is compounded by a uninformed acquaintance or service who says 'well, why did you take those images in the first place?' that guilt can really be reinforced so it's crucial that the response somebody is provided with is that they have committed no error," she stated.
She added it was fantastic that Madelaine was using her experience to create solutions, adding: "It is vital to have this comprehensive strategy towards tackling tech facilitated abuse, because no one tool 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 her underwear were shared around her town. It was the first of several incidents Jess endured in her youth that would later shape her women's rights campaigning.
"It took so long, an excessive amount of time for someone to tell me, 'you are not to blame' and 'that shouldn't have happened'," recalled Jess.
She too is passionate about eliminating the shame of intimate image abuse from the victims to the perpetrators. "It isn't a crime to willingly share an photo to someone," said Jess.
"But it is a crime to circulate that without consent and I think that should always be where the blame is," she concluded.
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