Human rights versus societal norms: a mixed methods study among healthcare providers on social stigma related to adolescent abortion and contraceptive use in Kisumu, Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study explores the tension healthcare providers face between upholding adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health rights and navigating restrictive societal norms in Kisumu, Kenya. While the study does not explicitly measure social norms using constructs like descriptive or injunctive norms, it uses two stigma-focused tools—the Stigmatising Attitudes, Beliefs and Actions Scale […]
Use of digital media for family planning information by women and their social networks in Kenya: A qualitative study in peri-urban Nairobi
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that digital media can offer safer, more discreet avenues for young women in Kenya to access and share family planning (FP) information, especially where in-person discussions are constrained by stigma and gender norms. Social norms around gender significantly influence comfort levels in discussing FP online, with women preferring […]
Understanding abortion-related stigma and incidence of unsafe abortion: experiences from community members in Machakos and Trans Nzoia counties Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Abortion-related stigma in Kenya is strongly reinforced by social norms that define women’s morality and social value through motherhood and sexual respectability. Women who seek abortion—especially young, unmarried women—are often labeled as immoral, “killers,” or bad influences, and are socially ostracized. This stigma is pervasive in both high- and low-incidence regions […]
Tracing change in female genital mutilation/cutting: Shifting norms and practices among communities in Narok and Kisii counties, Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Shifting social norms—particularly around marriageability, sexual morality, and ethnic identity—are central to understanding both persistence and change in female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Kenya’s Narok and Kisii counties. While health risk messaging has increased public awareness, it has not substantially changed norms rooted in tradition, identity, and fear of social sanctions. […]
The role of social norms on adolescent family planning in rural Kilifi county, Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reinforces that social norms are multi-layered and gendered. Among young women, especially those who are unmarried, affiliation with peers who use modern contraception can reduce stigma and encourage uptake. Programs should target not just individual beliefs, but also reshape community norms and leverage peer influence—particularly same-sex peer networks—to foster […]
The role of partners, parents and friends in shaping young women’s reproductive choices in Peri-urban Nairobi: a qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms related to female sexuality, discretion, and male authority continue to heavily influence whether and how young women use FP. Secrecy is often a survival strategy to avoid stigma or conflict. Interventions must go beyond providing FP information and instead engage entire social networks—particularly mothers, partners, and healthcare workers—to shift […]
The relationship between Nairobi adolescents’ media use and their sexual beliefs and attitudes.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study underscores the importance of recognizing how adolescents’ exposure to media shapes their ideas of what is “normal” sexual behavior among peers and reinforces gender stereotypes. Efforts to address sexual health and reduce risk-taking among youth should include media literacy approaches that help adolescents critically engage with the sexual norms […]
Stigma and Agency: Exploring Young Kenyan Women’s Experiences with Abortion Stigma and Individual Agency
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms associating abortion with immorality and female promiscuity continue to impose strong stigma on young women. However, rather than being solely constrained by these norms, many women actively resist them, demonstrating self-reliance and confidence. Programs aiming to reduce stigma must focus not only on shifting harmful norms but also on […]
‘Spoiled’ girls: Understanding social influences on adolescent contraceptive decision-making in Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Adolescent girls in Kenya must navigate overlapping and often contradictory social norms that stigmatize both contraceptive use and adolescent pregnancy. Contraceptive use—particularly hormonal methods—is associated with promiscuity and feared to cause infertility, while pregnancy outside of marriage threatens educational and social standing. These stigmas are compounded by gendered power imbalances and […]
Shifts in female genital mutilation/cutting in Kenya: Perspectives of families and health care providers
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study illustrates that social norms—particularly those around cultural identity, marriageability, religious obligations, and control of female sexuality—strongly sustain the practice of FGM/C in Kenya. Despite growing awareness of health risks and legal prohibitions, communities are adapting through shifts in the practice (e.g., cutting at younger ages, medicalisation, and less severe […]