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 Social norms rooted in cultural and religious beliefs often superseded formal protections and legal frameworks.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 […]
Adolescent Girls’ Early Marriage Intention and its Determinants in Eastern Ethiopia: A Social Norms Perspective
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study confirms that early marriage is upheld by strong injunctive and descriptive norms in Eastern Ethiopia. Community expectations and the perception of social rewards or sanctions for compliance contribute heavily to parental intentions. Effective interventions must directly address these social norms—particularly in rural, less-educated populations—by shifting collective beliefs and expectations, […]
A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Explaining Non-Uptake of Hormonal Contraceptives Among Adolescent Girls in Rural Ghana: The Adolescent Girls’ Perspective.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Prevailing social and gender norms in rural Ghana strongly discourage adolescent girls from using hormonal contraceptives, associating their use with sexual promiscuity and moral failure. These norms—reinforced by families, religious teachings, and the wider community—create an environment of stigma, shame, and fear. Girls internalize these expectations, leading to reluctance in seeking […]
A Qualitative Study of Intimate Partner Violence Among Women in Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals how deeply rooted patriarchal and cultural norms in Nigeria contribute to intimate partner violence (IPV). Women are expected to be submissive, defer to husbands and in-laws, and endure abuse for the sake of family honor and children. These norms discourage help-seeking and normalize suffering. Effective prevention must directly […]
A reconfiguration of the sex trade: How social and structural changes in eastern Zimbabwe left women involved in sex work and transactional sex more vulnerable
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study shows how social norms around sex work in Zimbabwe were reconfigured during a period of economic collapse and heightened HIV awareness. While overt commercial sex became more stigmatized and publicly condemned—framed as a threat to community health and morality—transactional sex became more widespread and less visible, especially among women […]
A Spatial Analysis of the Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting among 0–14-Year-Old Girls in Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study provides robust evidence that social, moral, and religious norms at the community level are powerful drivers of FGM/C among girls aged 0–14 in Kenya. A mother’s circumcision status, support for continuation of the practice, and belief in its religious necessity are closely linked to her daughter’s risk of being […]