Evaluation of Biruh Tesfa (Bright Future) for All: A program for out-of-school girls, migrants, and domestic workers in low-income Ethiopian cities
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights the importance of shifting social norms around education, gender roles, and child protection to improve outcomes for highly vulnerable urban girls in Ethiopia. Biruh Tesfa effectively engaged communities to increase girls’ school attendance and reduce harmful practices, especially around early marriage and household labor expectations. It shows that […]
Improving Menstrual Health Literacy Through Life-Skills Programming in Rural Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of gender-transformative life-skills programming in the Act With Her–Ethiopia program in shifting stigmatizing social norms around menstruation among very young adolescents in rural Ethiopia. Programming that synchronously engages girls, boys, caregivers, and communities can significantly reduce menstrual stigma and improve knowledge and behavior around menstrual health. […]
Transforming gender norms through life-skills programming in rural Ethiopia: short-term impacts and emerging lessons for adaptive programming: Oromia case study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Act With Her-Ethiopia program in Oromia demonstrated that gender-transformative life skills education can improve girls’ voice and agency, parent–adolescent communication, and knowledge around menstruation and violence. However, the program revealed limited or even negative short-term impacts on attitudes toward gender equality, indicating that shifting entrenched norms—particularly among boys and communities—requires […]
People Will Talk About Her If She Is Not Circumcised: Exploring the Patterning, Drivers, and Gender Norms Around Female Genital Mutilation in Ethiopia’s Somali Region
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that female genital mutilation (FGM) in Ethiopia’s Somali region is upheld by intersecting and context-specific social norms tied to religion, culture, femininity, and marriageability. The study applies social norms theory, distinguishing between empirical and normative expectations, and explicitly identifies FGM—especially infibulation—as a deeply entrenched norm. Girls and women […]
The Intersection of Gender-Based Violence and Risky Sexual Behaviour among University Students in Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights how entrenched traditional gender norms at Ethiopian universities contribute to both gender-based violence (GBV) and risky sexual behaviors. Norms that associate women’s worth with submissiveness, modesty, and virginity—and that blame women for violence if they deviate from these ideals—create a campus climate where GBV is normalized and victims […]
Stigma as a barrier to family planning use among married youth in Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Anticipated stigma—driven by social norms around gender, fertility, and youth behavior—emerges as a significant barrier to family planning (FP) use among married youth in Ethiopia. Community expectations that young brides should prove their fertility, along with fears of judgment from providers, family, and community members, create an environment where seeking FP […]
Socio-cultural factors perceived to influence sexual behaviours of adolescents in Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals that prevailing social and cultural norms in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia—especially those stigmatizing adolescent sexuality and condom use—contribute significantly to adolescents’ engagement in risky sexual behavior. Despite general cultural and religious discouragement of premarital sex, community-level norms perpetuate shame, fear, and judgment around seeking sexual and reproductive health (SRH) […]
Socio-cultural context of adolescent sexuality and youth-friendly service intervention in West Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia: A qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that adolescent SRH interventions must go beyond providing services — they need to address and engage with the broader cultural and religious norms that shape sexual behavior and service use. Without challenging the community’s moral and social expectations, YFS programs are unlikely to meaningfully change adolescent SRH outcomes. […]
Signs of a Turning Tide in Social Norms and Attitudes Toward Abortion in Ethiopia: Findings from a Qualitative Study in Four Regions
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study reveals deeply rooted negative social norms and stigma surrounding unintended pregnancy and abortion in Ethiopia, particularly affecting young and unmarried women. Despite legal reforms, abortion continues to be viewed as morally unacceptable in many communities, often equated with murder or sin. However, the research also identifies early signs of […]
Parents’ intention toward early marriage of their adolescent girls in eastern Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study from a social norms perspective
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that strong social norms—specifically empirical expectations (beliefs about what others do) and normative expectations (beliefs about what others think one should do)—significantly influence parents’ intentions to marry off their adolescent daughters before age 18 in Eastern Ethiopia. The findings show that even when parents are aware of the […]