Mom & son create app to keep LGBTQ+ people safe

A mother and son team in the U.K. have launched an app designed to help LGBTQ+ people find safe harbor when they feel endangered.

The BOBU app (available via Apple and Google) is an extension of Luciana and Nicholas Cousin’s “Back Off, Back Up” initiative, launched in 2021. The initiative provides training for local businesses to become designated safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people trying to escape threats and harassment on the street. Participating businesses, like restaurants and other venues, can post “Back Off, Back Up” signage, letting queer and trans people know that if they are feeling unsafe, their staff can offer support.

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Those businesses are also listed in the BOBU app, which provides a map showing venues that have been through “Back Off, Back Up’s” inclusive hospitality training.

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Hate crimes based on sexual orientation in England and Wales have risen 112% in the last five years, and hate crimes against trans people were up by 11% last year, according to the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics. The Brighton-based Cousins duo behind the app say their initiative grew out of their concerns for friends who had actually been attacked on the street and were too afraid to ask for help.

“It became apparent there was nowhere to go once you’ve been attacked,” Luciana told PinkNews. “We thought: What if we had a sticker that would announce [where] LGBTQ+ people could get help?”

“It started as a simple initiative with a sticker on the window and by asking venues to offer help, such as by offering to charge someone’s phone,” Nicholas explained. But, the Cousins soon saw the need for venues to have specific training in diversity and inclusivity.

Now, the latest version of the app, released last month, covers Brighton, London, and Kendal, a town in rural North West England. Along with designated safe spaces, the app also lists places where people can get tested for STDs or receive other sexual healthcare anonymously. Users can also rate venues based on their experiences there — that way, the BOBU team can ensure that all participating businesses are living up to the initiative’s promise.

“Members of the trans community have also been asking if we can list venues for haircuts or wellness,” Nicholas said.

Luciana says they hope to eventually expand BOBU to cover every major city in Europe.

In a video on BOBU’s website, Shaun, one of the Cousins’ friends whose experience motivated them to launch the app, explains the impact the initiative has had.

“The beautiful thing about BOBU is that these people who are attacked for whatever reason on the streets or in bars or wherever know that when they see the yellow sticker, they’re able to go to the host of that station, who has been trained up to their eyeballs, who knows that when they leave their station they’re not going to be told off by their manager, they’re going to be able to look after that person as much as they can,” Shaun says.

“They don’t have to go in and explain themselves in front of all these people. They just have to say, ‘Do you mind?’ And that’s it. They’re whisked away and they’re allowed to charge their phones up,” Shaun adds. “They’re allowed to have a drink, call friends, and just sit and take in what just happened.”