Age-disparate and intergenerational sex partnerships and HIV: the role of gender norms among adolescent girls and young women in Malawi.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Inequitable gender norms—such as male control over women’s healthcare decisions, tolerance of violence, and stigmatization of sexually active women—greatly magnify HIV risks for AGYW in age-mixing relationships. Programs must challenge these harmful norms while promoting girls’ autonomy, education, and economic opportunities to effectively reduce HIV vulnerability. Objectives: This study examined how […]
An Exploration of Social Norms That Restrict Girls’ Sexuality and Facilitate Child Marriage in Bangladesh to Inform Policies and Programs
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores that persistent social norms designed to control adolescent girls’ sexuality are central to the continuation of child marriage in rural Bangladesh. Norms that restrict girls’ mobility, prohibit interaction with male peers, and exclude girls from decision-making around their own marriage are driven by concerns about family honor and […]
Applying a gender lens to social norms, couple communication and decision making to increase modern contraceptive use in Ethiopia, a mixed methods study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that community-based interventions targeting young men can shift harmful gender norms and reduce intimate partner violence (IPV). At baseline, participants across all three study arms expressed substantial support for inequitable norms. For example, 58% agreed that a woman should tolerate violence to keep her family together, and half […]
Adolescent girls trapped in early marriage social norm in rural Ethiopia: A vignette-based qualitative exploration
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Early marriage in rural Ethiopia is upheld by strong social norms enforced by peers, parents, marriage brokers, and community members. Girls are expected to accept early marriage proposals—often seen as rare opportunities—and refusal can result in stigma, isolation, or even coercion. These norms persist due to conditional preferences: individuals conform because […]
Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Ethiopia and Rwanda: A Qualitative Exploration of the Role of Social Norms
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms in Ethiopia and Rwanda heavily shape adolescents’ experiences of sexual and reproductive health (SRH), with gender playing a central role. Norms around puberty, sexuality, menstruation, marriage, and sexual violence impose greater restrictions and expectations on girls than boys. Girls are expected to remain sexually “pure” and are held responsible […]
Adolescents’ capabilities and aspirations across gender and generations in Amhara, Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that despite progressive policy reforms across three Ethiopian political regimes, persistent gender norms—particularly those around early marriage, ideal femininity, and sexual purity—continued to shape and constrain adolescent girls’ capabilities and aspirations. Social norms rooted in cultural and religious beliefs often superseded formal protections and legal frameworks. Notably, the […]
Adolescents’ utilization of reproductive health services in Kaduna, Nigeria: the role of stigma
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study illustrates how deeply embedded religious and cultural norms in Kaduna, Nigeria, create stigma around adolescent sexual activity and the use of sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS). These norms, which equate premarital sex with immorality, result in strong community disapproval and internalized shame among adolescents—particularly girls. Adolescents fear being […]
Abortion as agentive action: reproductive agency among young women seeking post-abortion care in Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: In Uganda, restrictive gender norms, social stigma, and patriarchal power dynamics profoundly shape how young women experience unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion. While abortion is socially condemned and legally ambiguous, young women enact agency through clandestine abortions as a means of reclaiming control over their futures. The decision to abort is […]
Access to adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in Accra, Ghana: An exploratory qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: In Accra, Ghana, gendered and cultural norms deeply influence adolescents’ access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Social expectations stigmatize sexuality, especially for girls, who are often judged harshly for seeking contraception or information. Boys face pressure to perform masculinity through sexual activity. These norms contribute to shame, misinformation, and […]
Adolescent Girls’ Agency Significantly Correlates With Favorable Social Norms in Ethiopia-Implications for Improving Sexual and Reproductive Health of Young Adolescents.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study finds that favorable social norms—especially descriptive and injunctive norms around early marriage—are significantly associated with greater agency among adolescent girls in Ethiopia. While norms supporting girls’ education and nutrition showed mixed associations, those related to early marriage had the strongest positive correlation with agency. However, agency domains related to […]