ENABLING GENDER NORM CHANGE THROUGH COMMUNICATION: A CASE STUDY OF A TRANS-MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT-EDUCATION INITIATIVE IN BANGLADESH.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This case study illustrates how an evidence-based, gender-transformative communication initiative can begin to shift entrenched social norms around child marriage in Bangladesh. Through entertainment-education and targeted community engagement, the project influenced personal and familial norms, even when broader community-level beliefs remained resistant. The study emphasizes the importance of aligning social norms […]
Girls’ Education South Sudan (GESS) Output 1: Social & Behavioural Change Communication Endline Report – Final Draft
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The evaluation of the Girls’ Education in South Sudan Social and Behavioral Change Communication program reveals that social norms related to girls’ education—particularly attitudes around gender equality, parental support, and the prioritization of boys’ education—can be gradually shifted through targeted radio programming and community engagement. While progress was made in increasing […]
Improving reproductive, maternal and newborn health using health communication in Ethiopia Final evaluation
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study illustrates how discriminatory social norms—particularly those tied to gender roles, male dominance in decision-making, and community perceptions of appropriate behavior for girls—undermine girls’ education and bodily autonomy in Ethiopia. While individual attitudes often appear more progressive, fear of social sanctions and perceived community expectations create barriers to change. The […]
Fostering gender equality and reproductive and sexual health among adolescents: results from a quasi-experimental study in Northern Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study demonstrates that a resource-light, narrative-based intervention can shift gender norms and behaviors when implemented through a life-stage approach. The most significant changes occurred among older adolescents and newly married/parenting youth, suggesting that adolescence and early adulthood are critical windows for gender norm transformation. The intervention succeeded in transforming inequitable […]
Contraceptive Conversations among Adolescent Girls and Young Women and their Partners, Peers, and Older Female Family Members in Lilongwe, Malawi: A Qualitative Analysis
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around adolescent sexuality, fertility, and contraceptive use significantly shape contraceptive conversations and decision-making among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Malawi. Unmarried and nulliparous AGYW face the greatest communication barriers due to stigma and cultural expectations that link contraceptive use to promiscuity and nonbarrier methods to infertility. These […]
Communication, Social Norms, and Contraceptive Use among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Lilongwe, Malawi
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights that AGYW are strongly influenced by their social ties — particularly partners and peers — when deciding whether to use non-barrier contraception. Interventions seeking to increase contraceptive use should go beyond delivering information or focusing on approval and instead strengthen peer-to-peer and partner communication and address perceptions of […]
How does a Social and Behavioral Change Communication Intervention Predict Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management: A Cross-Sectional Study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The GARIMA intervention reveals that breaking the culture of silence around menstruation can lead to improved menstrual health and hygiene management when social and behavioral change communication is grounded in interpersonal and community dialogue. The intervention successfully shifted gender norms and increased interpersonal communication, which were key mediators of improved menstrual […]
Engaging with faith groups to prevent VAWG in conflict-affected communities: results from two community surveys in the DRC
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study affirms that engaging faith leaders and faith communities can catalyze significant shifts in harmful social norms around violence against women and girls in conflict-affected settings. The intervention leveraged the trust, reach, and moral authority of religious actors to promote more equitable gender norms and reject intimate partner and sexual […]
How radio can build a more supportive environment for girls’ education, learning, and empowerment
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The EAGER program demonstrates that targeting social norms through media—especially radio—is an effective strategy for shifting attitudes that restrict girls’ education, reproductive autonomy, and empowerment. By broadcasting relatable, locally grounded stories and fostering open discussion among caregivers, community leaders, and girls, the program encouraged more equitable norms around adolescent girls’ rights, […]
The effects of the integration of an economic strengthening and HIV prevention education programme on the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and savings behaviours among adolescents: a full-factorial randomised controlled trial in South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores that social norms, particularly those related to gender dynamics, communication about sex, and financial decision-making, play an important but complex role in shaping adolescent sexual health outcomes. While the integrated intervention aimed to shift norms around gender and economic autonomy, the study found limited evidence of behavioral change. […]