HELP. EMPOWER. RESPOND. OUTREACH.
An initiative in partnership with the Gabby Petito Foundation
When first responders encounter potential victims of domestic violence, trafficking, or coercive control, they must make split-second decisions — often without clear guidance or the tools to connect victims with safe, qualified help.
The result: inconsistent responses, missed opportunities for intervention, and victims left without secure support.In many cases — especially sex trafficking — victims are unwilling or unable to cooperate due to coercion, surveillance, or fear of retaliation.
This leaves investigators with no viable way to collect evidence or pursue charges.
HERO QR™ is a clandestine victim referral and evidence capture system — a field-ready tool designed for first responders, law enforcement, and victim advocates.
HERO QR™ bridges the gap between first contact with a victim and long-term safety, providing a standardized and protected way to connect victims with tools, resources, and the help they need.
Clandestine communication — undetectable even under surveillance
HeroQR’s architecture ensures that no detectable signal reveals that communication is occurring. Even under active surveillance, there is no observable network activity or metadata indicating that the victim has reached out for help.
Protecting Ecosystems
HeroQR identifies behavioral and system indicators consistent with stalkerware, rooted or jailbroken devices, and other forms of compromise, alerting advocates before sensitive communication begins.
Forensic-aware evidence capture
HeroQR securely collects and preserves digital evidence of stalkerware or other technology-facilitated abuse under chain-of-custody standards — enabling investigators and prosecutors to build actionable cases.
Unique prosecutorial value
The evidence gathered provides a rare opportunity to prosecute organized trafficking and coercion under RICO, even when victims are noncooperative — a common barrier in sex-trafficking cases.
Victim-led self-evaluation
After being referred through a HeroQR code, the victim can complete a brief communimetric self-evaluation designed to measure safety, emotional stability, and coercive control factors.
The results help advocacy personnel establish urgency, determine the level of danger, and ensure consistent triage across the national victim-advocacy apparatus
- Law Enforcement & First Responders:
Provides a secure, liability-reducing referral option when direct action is unsafe or unwarranted. - Victim Advocates:
Receives standardized digital assessments that unify triage and prioritize outreach safely and consistently. - Prosecutors & Task Forces:
Gains digital evidence streams capable of supporting RICO or trafficking prosecutions even without victim cooperation.
It gives first responders a responsible, immediate option for referral; victims a secure, invisible line to help; and prosecutors the evidentiary foundation needed to dismantle organized coercion networks.
In August 2021, while on a cross-country van journey, 22-year-old Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie were stopped by officers after a 911 call reported an altercation. An independent investigative review found the officers made “several unintentional mistakes,” including failing to issue a domestic-violence citation and neglecting to obtain a statement from the original 911 caller. These findings ignited national discussion on the urgent need for better field-tools and training so that first contact isn’t a missed chance for safety. Driven by this tragic outcome and the demand for systemic change, the Gabby Petito Foundation was founded to advocate for survivors, improve responses to domestic‐ and technology-facilitated abuse, and ensure that victims can safely connect to help.
