Opportunities and Challenges in Preventing Violence Against Adolescent Girls Through Gender Transformative, Whole-Family Support Programming in Northeast Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The SSAGE program demonstrates that synchronized, reflective engagement with caregivers, male siblings, and girls can shift household communication and decrease tolerance for violence. However, persistent patriarchal norms—particularly around girls’ obedience and mobility—limited the extent of norm change. This underscores the need for programs to simultaneously address broader structural and community-level drivers […]
Effectiveness of the Sista2Sista programme in improving HIV and other sexual and reproductive health outcomes among vulnerable adolescent girls and young women in Zimbabwe
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Sista2Sista programme demonstrates that peer group interventions rooted in dialogue, mentorship, and community involvement can influence social norms related to sexual health, education, and gender-based violence among adolescent girls and young women. The program’s emphasis on self-awareness, communication, gender and power, and rights-based decision-making helped shift individual attitudes and behaviors, […]
RCT evaluation of Skhokho: A holistic school intervention to prevent gender-based violence among South African Grade 8s
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that school- and family-based interventions can contribute to the prevention of intimate partner violence among adolescents by addressing the broader social norms that underpin gender inequality and the normalization of violence. Findings suggest that improving communication, promoting gender-equitable attitudes, and challenging the acceptance of corporal punishment and other […]
Using soccer to build confidence and increase HCT uptake among adolescent girls: a mixed-methods study of an HIV prevention programme in South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The SKILLZ Street intervention highlights how challenging harmful gender norms in a girls-only, sport-based setting can enhance adolescent girls’ confidence, communication, and health-seeking behavior. By creating a safe space and using female community coaches as role models, the program addressed stigma, gender inequality, and the perception of soccer as male-only, fostering […]
Findings from the SASA! Study: a cluster randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of a community mobilization intervention to prevent violence against women and reduce HIV risk in Kampala, Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The SASA! study demonstrates that community mobilization can meaningfully shift social norms related to intimate partner violence and gender equality, leading to reductions in both the social acceptance and actual experience of violence against women, and influencing HIV risk behaviors. It highlights the importance of engaging entire communities in dialogue about […]
Examining diffusion to understand the how of SASA!, a violence against women and HIV prevention intervention in Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the importance of community-led social norms transformation in reducing violence against women. The SASA! intervention facilitated behavior change by challenging gender norms that underpin intimate partner violence and HIV vulnerability. The success of SASA! was linked to its ability to diffuse ideas through multiple communication channels and within […]
Empowering youth for social change through the Shujaaz multimedia platform in Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Shujaaz multimedia platform illustrates how digital and analogue media can be effectively combined to shift social norms around contraception, financial independence, and youth empowerment in Kenya. The platform helps normalize family planning as a responsible and aspirational behavior, using relatable stories and youth-centered narratives to challenge stigma, foster open conversations, […]
A Family-Focused, Sibling-Synchronous Intervention in Borno State, Nigeria: Exploring the Impact on Family Functioning and Household Gender Roles
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights that improving gender equity and reducing violence within families demands more than targeting girls alone. Engaging boys, caregivers, and the broader household in open dialogue about power, roles, and relationships is essential for transforming social norms. Programs that create space for cross-generational, gender-inclusive conversations can help challenge entrenched […]
Changes in Family-Level Attitudes and Norms and Association with Secondary School Completion and Child Marriage Among Adolescent Girls: Results from an Exploratory Study Nested Within a Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial in India
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Indirect norms—like expectations to protect family honor by limiting girls’ freedom—powerfully shape girls’ futures. Effective interventions must target not just households but also the broader social networks that uphold these practices. Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of the Samata intervention, a three-year multilayered program in northern Karnataka, India, designed to […]
Boys’ perspectives on girls’ marriage and school dropout: a qualitative study revisiting a structural intervention in Southern India
Key Social Norms Take-Aways: Boys were influenced by norms portraying them as both threats to and protectors of girls’ reputations. While some adopted more equitable attitudes, their behaviors remained shaped by dominant masculinity and family honor norms. Interventions must go beyond individual change to engage peer networks and broader community structures in shifting power and […]