Effectiveness of a multimedia campaign in shifting community knowledge, attitudes, social norms, and practices of female genital mutilation and child marriage in Ethiopia.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Exposure to the multimedia campaign was associated with greater awareness and less supportive attitudes toward female genital mutilation and child marriage, but deeply rooted sociocultural and religious norms continued to sustain both practices. The discussion emphasizes that individual attitude change is insufficient; sustained abandonment requires collective norm change through community and […]
Parents’ and guardians’ perceptions of sexual and reproductive health communication with youth: A qualitative study in Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Sociocultural norms—including taboos, shame, secrecy, and gendered expectations—constrain parent–youth communication about sexual and reproductive health. The discussion emphasizes that simply encouraging parents to communicate is insufficient; interventions must address the cultural, relational, and structural conditions that determine whether these conversations are considered acceptable and possible. Gender norms also shape who communicates […]
Unsafe sexual practice and associated factors among adolescents in secondary schools in Gambella town, Ethiopia: a health belief model.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Adolescents’ perceptions of what is socially acceptable around abstinence and condom use were significantly associated with unsafe sexual practices. In particular, low perceived social support for consistent condom use was associated with greater likelihood of unsafe sexual behavior, underscoring the importance of strengthening social environments that support condom use. The discussion […]
Generalized structural equation modeling of intimate partner violence among married women in East Africa using population-based data.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Attitudes accepting wife beating were strongly associated with all forms of intimate partner violence, pointing to deep-rooted patriarchal norms that can normalize violence within relationships. The discussion also suggests that traditional norms supporting intimate partner violence may contribute to greater sexual violence in rural areas and that women’s employment or increased […]
Evolving Gender Attitudes and Fertility Preferences: A Study of Young Women in Five Sub-Saharan African Countries.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Gender attitudes and fertility preferences are interconnected, but this relationship depends on the broader social and structural context. As women’s education expands and egalitarian gender attitudes diffuse, young women who reject patriarchal attitudes increasingly diverge from prevailing high-fertility norms. In low-education settings, however, even women with more egalitarian attitudes may continue […]
Empowering Youth Through Evidence: Applying Outcome Harvesting to Evaluate Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Advocacy in Ethiopia.
Key Social Norms Takeaways: Social norms around gender, harmful traditional practices, and youth roles can shift through participatory, youth-led advocacy that engages community gatekeepers such as religious and traditional leaders. The study highlights that changing norms is a non-linear, community-driven process, where empowering youth as visible advocates and decision-makers helps reshape expectations around practices like […]
Parents’ acceptance of human papilloma virus vaccination for their daughters in adet town, North Gojjam zone, Northwest Ethiopia: A mixed method study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights that social norms—particularly subjective norms shaped by influential actors such as health professionals, religious leaders, peers, and family—play a critical role in shaping parents’ acceptance of HPV vaccination for their daughters in Ethiopia. Norms operate through perceived expectations and social pressure, where approval or endorsement from trusted community […]
Mothers’ intentions to discuss menstruation-related topics with their daughters using the theory of planned behavior
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study demonstrates that social norms—particularly those related to menstruation as a taboo topic, expectations around modesty, and perceived social approval from family and community members—strongly influence mothers’ willingness to communicate with their daughters about menstrual health in Ethiopia. The discussion highlights that subjective norms (i.e., what important others think mothers […]
Exploring the youth perceptions of factors contributing to victims’ silence during the armed conflict in Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—including stigma, normalization of violence, and expectations around silence—play a central role in sustaining underreporting of violence in conflict settings. The study highlights that violence becomes socially tolerated during armed conflict, and norms around shame, fear, and bystander inaction reinforce a culture of silence. These norms are not only individual […]
Inequitable gender norms and its associated factors among university students in southern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study, 2022
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Inequitable gender norms remain widely endorsed among university students in southern Ethiopia and are strongly shaped by gender socialization processes, particularly among men. These norms normalize male dominance, women’s subservience, and acceptance of gender-based violence, with implications for sexual and reproductive health, access to services, and broader gender inequality. Importantly, attitudes […]