CANADA'S ONLY NATIONAL CHARITY FOCUSED ON 2SLGBTQI+ YOUTH RELEASES GLO, A YOUTH FOCUSED APP IN SUPPORT OF COMBATTING ONLINE BULLYING
TORONTO, Sept. 29, 2025 /CNW/ - Youth across Canada can now download and access a brand new resource dedicated to addressing the unique online challenges of 2SLGBTQI+ youth. GLO, presented by It Gets Better Canada (IGBC) and made possible through federal funding by the Department of Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), focuses on enhancing mental health, combating online hate, and improving digital literacy.
The app, developed by Montreal firm LG2, launches just as students settle into their back-to-school realities and with that many face emerging unique challenges. 2SLGBTQI+ youth in particular, often face disproportionate bullying and cyberbullying victimization. A Statistics Canada's 2023 report on cyberbullying among youth presented that one in four teens have experienced online harassment. The prevalence is notably higher among non-binary and sexually diverse youth, with over half of non-binary teens facing cyberbullying. It Gets Better Canada's Executive Director, Omid Razavi, shares the motivation for developing GLO.
"We connect with 2SLGBTQI+ youth from across the country on a daily basis. Through their stories, we hear first-hand the barriers they are facing and the increasing trend of online hate directed towards them. When tasked with the opportunity to develop an integral support resource, our team prioritized the need to develop an empowering tool that would not only support the mental health of queer youth while navigating online channels, but one that would also direct them to better advocate for themselves and their communities."
Taking a gamified approach, GLO pairs users with their very own virtual pet to nurture and grow, as they are guided through educational journeys covering topics such as "recognizing stress", "identifying AI", "combating cyberbullying" and more. The content for GLO is a carefully curated integration of emerging and established research, connecting media and technology research with the latest innovations in mental health support for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. Taking a youth-led approach, the curriculum modules were shared with 2SLGBTQI+ youth content creators to make their own as they adopted a community-engaged and collaborative creative process to finalize GLO's content.
"Not only is GLO evidence-based, but it embodies queer joy, hope, and resilience in a way that I am confident will impact the mental health of our Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ youth at a time when they are under significant threat." Says Shelley L. Craig, PhD, RSW, LCSW, Canada Research Chair in Sexual and Gender Minority Youth, the key lead of the development of the GLO curriculum.
GLO is part of a larger project by IGBC, focused on combating anti-2SLGBTQI+ online hate and promoting digital safety and literacy and has been made possible through approximately one million dollars in funding by WAGE..
"No young person should have to choose between being themselves and feeling safe online. With support from our federal government, GLO--co-created with 2SLGBTQI+ youth content creators--will help youth strengthen their mental health, push back against online hate, and build digital skills."
--The Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
GLO is now available to download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
About the It Gets Better Canada
It Gets Better Canada is a registered charity in Canada that envisions a world where all 2SLGBTQ+ youth are free to live equally and know their worthiness and power as individuals. Its mission is to uplift, empower, and connect 2SLGBTQ+ youth across Canada.
Please visit www.itgetsbettercanada.org/glo-app for more information.
SOURCE It Gets Better Canada
Share this article