Gay–straight alliance is intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and all LGBTQ+ individuals,[1] children, teenagers, and youth as well as their cisgender heterosexual allies.

[3] Scientific studies show that GSAs have positive academic, health, and social impacts on schoolchildren of a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

[14] Jennings credits students for both the establishment of the club, as well as for setting the agenda of struggling against homophobia, and for changes to CA's nondiscrimination policy.

Founded in 1984, Project 10 was widely recognized as the first organized effort to provide support for LGBTQ youth in schools across the United States.

[19] GSAs made headlines in 1999 with the Federal Court ruling in Utah–East High Gay/Straight Alliance v. Board of Education of Salt Lake City School District.

[31] Started by The Foundation for Young Australians and Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, along with La Trobe University, the program was expanded to run Australia wide.

In May 2010 Egale Canada launched MyGSA.ca, a website focused on GSAs and their role in making Canadian schools safer and more LGBTQ inclusive.

[36] The start of the Pinetree GSA garnered national media attention, and its members continued to play a role in public affairs by meeting with successive provincial Ministers of Education, testifying before the B.C.

Safe Schools Task Force on anti-bullying, and delivering workshops to students and educators about LGBT-sensitive inclusive language and how to start GSAs.

The same year, the school board assigned a district consultant to provide support for GSAs within the city and host a monthly meeting for GSA members to network.

[48] Since then, GSAs have been established at Nutana, Walter Murray, Evan Hardy, Marion Graham, Bedford Road and Aden Bowman Collegiates.

[36] In Ontario, Arnprior District High school, a small rural Ottawa Valley town started a GSA created by the students in 2009.

[51] In December 2011, the government of the most populous Canadian province, Ontario, announced it would bring a legislation making it mandatory for all publicly funded schools to support the formation of "tolerance clubs" and student associations.

[56] The University of Prince Edward Island's Social Justice Studies program founded shOUT!, an annual conference aimed as GSAs but open to the public, in 2013.

[62][63] While the Yukon Department of Education does not have specific legislation regarding GSA, it does have a policy which mandates safety and inclusion for LGBTQ students which has been used in the justification for GSAs.

[64][65] Additionally, the territory mandates that all schools must appoint a staff member as a "safe contact" to provide support for LGBTQ students.

This group was first inspired to care and focus on the lives of oppressed students and hijras, a community of transgender women, intersex individuals, and eunuchs in India who are marginalized both socially and economically.

[72] At Presidency University, Kolkata, around 100 students have formed a GSA group called Ardhek Akash, which also produces a magazine of the same name.

At the beginning of 2011, a nationwide campaign was started on television to promote GSAs in Dutch schools, featuring several well-known young actors and singers.

[84] The initiative, similar to GSA, aimed to establish secondary level student groups, including teachers, to enhance the safety and inclusivity of Portuguese schools.

The focus was on fostering an environment that embraced diversity, particularly regarding sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).

[85] The primary objectives included integrating LGBTI students, eradicating the various forms of discrimination experienced related to SOGIESC within the school context.

[86] Telmo Fernandes, the ADD project coordinator, highlighted that the collected responses underscored the persistent issues of isolation and discrimination, emphasizing the need for the intended change.

[87] Alianças da Diversidade groups were established in various schools across the country, including locations such as Ovar municipality,[88] Ramada parish[89] and in the city of Ermesinde.

[93] In the UK, there has always been more of an emphasis on stand alone lesbian and gay youth groups that take place outside of the school setting, often funded by the local health authority or education service.

The first GSA in the UK was founded in 2000 by CN Lester at Putney High School GDST, and led in part to the formation of Queer Youth Network.

[95][non-primary source needed] The goal of most gay–straight alliances is to make their school community safe, facilitate activism on campus, and create a welcoming environment for LGBTQ students.

[citation needed] Many of these state based groups and local chapters of GLSEN participate in the National Association of GSA Networks.

[5] GSAs/QSAs are associated with better mental health outcomes, such as less depression, less general psychological distress, and higher self-esteem than students without a GSA at their high school.

Laub initially started working with this movement in 40 GSA clubs in the San Francisco Bay area during 1988–99 and then gradually expanded to other cities and states.