The Communities Care programme: changing social norms to end violence against women and girls in conflict-affected communities
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This article offers important preliminary insights into how social norms around violence against women and girls can begin to shift in conflict-affected settings. While full evaluation data were not yet available, early findings from the Communities Care program suggest that participatory, community-driven dialogue processes can open space for challenging norms related […]
Changing Social Norms: the Importance of “Organized Diffusion” for Scaling Up Community Health Promotion and Women Empowerment Interventions.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This article highlights the importance of “organized diffusion”—the process by which intervention participants intentionally share what they have learned with others in their networks—as a cost-effective strategy for promoting social norms change. Organized diffusion can amplify the reach and sustainability of community-based interventions by transforming both personal attitudes and collective norms, […]
Effectiveness of the Communities Care programme on change in social norms associated with gender-based violence (GBV) with residents in intervention compared with control districts in Mogadishu, Somalia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The evaluation of the Communities Care program in Somalia offers rigorous evidence that collective reflection and community-driven action, rather than individual attitude change alone, can influence social norms around violence, family honor, and male entitlement. It also provides a validated social norms measurement tool that can be used in future violence […]
Diffusion in social norms change about violence against women: A longitudinal analysis of intervention data from a cluster randomised trial.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the critical role of organized diffusion in shifting social norms related to intimate partner violence. The findings suggest that diffusion is particularly effective in communities with lower baseline levels of gender equity, where greater normative change is possible. By facilitating interpersonal discussions of intervention messages, the program challenged […]
Changing the River’s Flow – A Gender Transformative Programme for Young People (CTRF4YP)
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This evaluation demonstrates that gender-transformative, community-based interventions can catalyze shifts in deeply embedded norms around gender roles, violence, and sexual relationships. The intervention’s focus on community dialogue and inclusion of both men and women led to increased openness in discussing gender-based violence, reduced stigma around survivors, and new expectations around spousal […]
C’est la Vie!: Mixed Impacts of an Edutainment Television Series in West Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study finds that edutainment programming like C’est La Vie! (CLV) can shift social norms around contraception and gender equity, particularly when exposure is sustained and integrated across media. It highlights that norms are more likely to shift when multiple layers of influence—media messages, interpersonal discussions, and community attitudes—align. Social norms […]
Measuring impact of storyline engagement on health knowledge, attitudes, and norms: a digital evaluation of an online health-focused serial drama in West Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study illustrates how digital entertainment-education content like C’est La Vie! (CLV) can influence health-related social norms in West Africa. Specifically, the show helped shift norms regarding female circumcision, emergency contraception, and sexual assault, with higher engagement levels leading to more pro-health attitudes. Importantly, different storylines had varying levels of impact, […]
Understanding family planning outcomes in northwestern Nigeria: analysis and modeling of social and behavior change factors
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms supporting high fertility, male-dominated decision-making, and contraceptive myths strongly shape family planning behaviors in this setting. Interventions must go beyond individual-level change to also address relational dynamics, especially fostering joint decision-making and male engagement, and create enabling environments that support women’s autonomy and challenge entrenched gender roles. Objectives: This […]
Breakthrough Generation Initiative Mixed-Methods Final Evaluation Report July
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Breakthrough Generation Initiative demonstrated that systemic shifts in social norms—especially around gender roles, harmful practices, and community collaboration—can emerge from community-led, values-based education. The participatory approach of Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP) created safe spaces for challenging entrenched beliefs and introduced a process of organized diffusion, enabling widespread norm change […]
Can Media Campaigns Change Attitudes and Spark Actions to Reduce Early Child Marriage? Impact Evaluation of Breakthrough’s Early Marriage Campaign in Jharkhand and Bihar States of India. Grantee Final Report
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study reveals that norms supporting early marriage and rigid gender roles can shift through media-driven and community-based engagement. Breakthrough’s mass media campaigns challenged the normalization of child marriage, while training and community mobilization helped reinforce critical reflection on gender norms. The intervention encouraged more equitable attitudes among adolescents and adults, […]