Prévenir les mariages précoces et forcés au Bénin (PROJEUNES)
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The PROJEUNES (Preventing early and forced marriage in Benin) project demonstrated that addressing early and forced marriage (EFM) in Benin requires shifting deeply entrenched social norms that define girls’ value in terms of marriageability and fertility. The project successfully fostered critical reflection among youth and community actors, challenging beliefs that favor […]
Gender Norms, Violence and Adolescent girls’ Trajectories: Evidence from a Field Experiment in India
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores the central role of social norms linked to gender roles, marriage, and family honor in shaping adolescent girls’ agency and decision-making in rural West Bengal. Norms that prioritize early marriage, family reputation, and male authority constrain girls’ autonomy, particularly around education, mobility, and sexuality. Shifting these norms requires […]
Contesting restrictive mobility norms among female mentors implementing a sport-based programme for young girls in a Mumbai slum
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that even in highly restrictive settings, collective action and community-rooted programming can empower young women to challenge entrenched gender norms—especially those limiting female mobility and public visibility. The mentors in this program strategically negotiated their participation in public life, gradually shifting their families’ and communities’ perceptions. The social […]
Impact of an Empowerment and Employability Program for Adolescent Girls: Evidence From India
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights how early adolescence presents a critical opportunity to shift gender attitudes and build self-efficacy among girls in India, where restrictive social norms around mobility, education, and employment often limit girls’ potential. The findings show that when girls are equipped with life and employability skills—and when communities, schools, and […]
Family influences on oral PrEP use among adolescent girls and young women in Kenya and South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the deep role of family—particularly mothers—in shaping adolescent girls’ and young women’s decisions around pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. Though the study does not directly measure social norms, it provides insight into prevailing normative expectations about sexual behavior and health decision-making. Many young women feared judgment or […]
Effects of PREPARE, a Multi-component, School-Based HIV and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Prevention Programme on Adolescent Sexual Risk Behaviour and IPV: Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study measured social norms explicitly, focusing on perceived expectations from peers, family, and partners around condom use and delaying sex. The intervention addressed both descriptive and injunctive norms by attempting to shift young people’s perceptions of what behaviors are typical and appropriate in their communities. While the intervention improved knowledge […]
Young Adolescents’ Endorsement of Restrictive Gender Norms: Evidence From a Community-Based Intervention in Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that targeting adult stakeholders through community-based norms diffusion can effectively reduce young adolescents’ endorsement of restrictive gender norms—particularly among boys. It highlights that gender attitudes during early adolescence are strongly shaped by peers, families, and broader social contexts, and that community-level interventions can shift these attitudes when they […]
Female Condom Use among Female University Students in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Results of a Randomized Behavioral Trial
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study suggests that brief, group-based female condom (FC) promotion interventions can shift individual-level attitudes and peer norms regarding condom use among young women, even in contexts of entrenched gender inequalities. While broader social norms around male dominance in sexual decision-making remain a barrier, increasing women’s condom self-efficacy and improving peer […]
Students and brides: a qualitative analysis of the relationship between girls’ education and early marriage in Ethiopia and India.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study reveals that persistent social norms in Ethiopia and India devalue girls’ education and prioritize early marriage, often reinforcing traditional gender roles that restrict girls’ autonomy and opportunity. These norms include beliefs that educated girls are less marriageable, that marriage should precede education, and that domestic responsibilities and motherhood outweigh […]
Narrative Persuasion and Social Norms in Entertainment-Education: Results from a Radio Drama in Mozambique
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around maternal health, sanitation, and reporting sexual abuse in Mozambique remain resistant to change, with community norms often not aligned with the behaviors promoted by the intervention. Although audiences engaged deeply with the radio drama’s characters and stories, indicating strong narrative persuasion, prevailing social norms continued to favor inaction […]