Using Vignettes to Gain Insights Into Social Norms Related to Voluntary Family Planning and Gender-Based Violence in South Sudan
Outcomes: Sexual and Reproductive Health
View SourceKey Social Norms Take-aways Social norms in South Sudan strongly shape family planning (FP) behaviors through entrenched patriarchy, pronatalist expectations, and community enforcement mechanisms. Male authority over reproductive decisions and the expectation of large families restrict women’s agency and link contraceptive use to stigma, violence, and moral suspicion. However, emerging supportive norms—such as valuing girls’ education, birth spacing, and limited female agency—indicate potential entry points for norm change. Importantly, norms are enforced not only within households but by broader reference groups (family, community leaders), and violations can trigger gender-based violence (GBV), highlighting the need for collective, community-driven norm transformation.
Objectives To explore social norms influencing voluntary family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH), including their links to gender-based violence, and to generate insights for culturally appropriate social and behavior change programming in South Sudan.
Methods This cross-sectional, descriptive qualitative study used vignette-based interviews with 266 participants (community members, FP/RH providers, and key influencers) across five counties. Vignettes depicting a fictional couple across the reproductive life course were used to elicit perceptions of descriptive and injunctive norms. Data collection combined qualitative responses and structured statements, drawing on tools such as the Social Norms Exploration Tool (SNET) and the Reproductive Empowerment Scale.
Intervention Details Not an intervention study. However, findings were shared with stakeholders and used to co-design community-based social and behavior change (SBC) strategies aimed at shifting harmful norms and strengthening supportive ones.
Results The study identified dominant restrictive norms, including expectations for large families (pronatalism), male control over reproductive decisions, and the necessity of male consent for contraceptive use. Women who used contraception without consent risked stigma, violence, and social sanctions, and providers also faced threats. Contraceptive use was often associated with promiscuity. Community and family actors acted as key norm enforcers. At the same time, supportive norms were identified, including postpartum abstinence for birth spacing, growing acceptance of girls’ education, and emerging—though limited—female agency. Some women exercised covert agency by secretly accessing FP services.
Conclusions Social norms in South Sudan present significant barriers to FP/RH uptake, particularly through gender inequality and the normalization of GBV as a sanction for norm violation. However, shifting norms around education, birth spacing, and women’s agency offer opportunities for change. Vignette-based methods proved effective for uncovering sensitive norms. Effective FP/RH programming must engage communities, address both restrictive and supportive norms, mitigate risks to women and providers, and promote collective, participatory norm transformation.
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