Key Social Norms Take-aways Social and gender norms strongly shape young Rohingya refugees’ access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Norms that stigmatize premarital sex, frame SRH as appropriate only for married couples, and prioritize women’s reproductive roles limit young people’s ability to seek information and services. These norms interact with age, gender, and marital status, meaning unmarried youth—especially young women—face the greatest barriers to care. Addressing SRH access in refugee contexts therefore requires confronting community stigma and designing youth-sensitive services that recognize these intersecting identities.

Objectives The study aimed to explore barriers to access and utilization of SRH services among young Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and to understand how overlapping identities—such as age, gender, marital status, and education—interact with social and gender norms to shape their experiences of seeking care.

Methods This qualitative study was conducted between May and July 2021 in two Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. Researchers carried out phone-based in-depth interviews with 12 young refugees (ages 18–24; equal numbers of men and women and married and unmarried participants) and informal discussions with seven SRH service providers from NGOs. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis in Atlas.ti, guided by a social and gender norms framework that examines individual, social, resource, and institutional factors affecting health behavior.

Results Participants reported that friends, cousins, and community health educators were their main sources of SRH information. Access to SRH services differed sharply by marital status: married individuals had relatively easier access to information and services, while unmarried youth—especially women—faced stigma and secrecy around sexual health issues. Conservative cultural and religious norms discouraged open discussion of sexuality and prevented young people from seeking services, even when they experienced symptoms of sexually transmitted infections. Men were less likely to use facility-based services and often relied on informal providers or pharmacies. Structural challenges also affected service utilization, including overcrowded clinics, limited provider availability, restricted service hours, referral barriers, and disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions Young Rohingya refugees face multiple, intersecting barriers to accessing SRH services, including social stigma, restrictive gender norms, limited youth-friendly services, and institutional constraints in the refugee camp health system. Effective responses must address both structural health system limitations and harmful social norms, while tailoring SRH services to different subgroups of youth based on gender, marital status, and age to improve access and utilization.