Caminho Livre
A survivor support companion in Portuguese that helps rescued domestic workers navigate the years-long aftermath of a rescue: opening a bank account, claiming back pay, finding family, learning to read, and accessing psychological support.
Adults recently rescued from conditions of domestic servitude in Brazil, many of whom are elderly, illiterate, and have never used a phone app before
- Voice-first onboarding (no typing required) in Portuguese that explains each step slowly with audio
- Step-by-step wizards for the practical tasks prosecutors assign: opening a CPF, claiming INSS back pay, finding siblings
- Local shelter and free-clinic directory with one-tap call and 'ask someone to help me book' share button
- Optional low-bandwidth mode for shared phones in shelters and community centers
Maria, 62, rescued after 55 years, can neither read nor use a phone; prosecutors are allowing her to stay with her exploiters for now because she has no support network. The gap isn't rescue, it's reintegration.
Real but narrow: ~175 domestic workers rescued over 9 years (with exponential growth: 31 in 2021, 34 in 2022, 24 in 2023, plus Maria's recent case), sitting within a 5.7M-strong but mostly non-trafficked domestic workforce.Since 2017, 101 domestic workers were rescued from conditions analogous to slavery in Brazil ↗Law promises aid to domestic workers rescued from slavery-like conditions ↗
No dedicated reintegration app exists; current support is human-mediated by NGOs like CARE International and Bem Querer Mulher, and the newly-signed Brazilian reintegration law contains no tech component — wide white space for a survivor companion.Domestic Abuse | Our Work | The Caring Family Foundation ↗Law promises aid to domestic workers rescued from slavery-like conditions ↗
End users are destitute and cannot pay; revenue must come from government contracts, NGO/INGO partnerships, and humanitarian grants (Candid, GSMA-style ICT4D funders exist), creating a fragile, mission-dependent model.Grant Funding Opportunities for Digital Development Programs ↗Brazil - CARE International ↗
Structural poverty, illiteracy and domestic-work exploitation in Brazil are deeply entrenched and unlikely to disappear in a decade; the new federal reintegration framework and rising rescue counts reinforce a multi-decade need window.The Prevalence of Domestic Work Among Women: the Case of Brazil ↗
Buildable in principle — voice-first AI interfaces (e.g., Voiceitt) and Portuguese LLMs exist to bypass literacy — but the user is 62, illiterate and smartphone-naïve, so the product realistically needs to be a caseworker-side tool mediating survivors, not a direct-to-victim consumer app.Voiceitt - Inclusive Voice AI ↗Optimizing mobile app design for older adults: systematic review ↗