The Influence of Organised Diffusion on Social Norms Change: Addressing Intimate Partner Violence in Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study provides compelling evidence that organized diffusion can effectively promote social norms change around intimate partner violence in contexts where such violence is widely accepted. The intervention successfully disrupted harmful norms by facilitating the sharing of new attitudes and behaviors across social networks. Changes in gender roles, spousal communication, and […]
Social norms and women’s risk of intimate partner violence in Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that social norms—particularly perceived and collective community expectations regarding gender roles, family honor, and the acceptability of violence—are significantly associated with women’s risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nepal. Notably, women’s perceptions of community beliefs about male control, female submissiveness, and the legitimacy of violence to maintain […]
Social Norms and Security and Justice Services for Gender-based Violence in Nepal: Programmatic Implications from a Baseline Mixed-Methods Assessment
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that deeply rooted patriarchal social norms—centered around family honor, obedience to elders, and the sanctity of marriage—significantly deter help-seeking for gender-based violence (GBV) in Nepal. Despite increased awareness and formal justice mechanisms, women often face strong sanctions for reporting violence, including stigma, community ostracism, and familial rejection. These […]
Side-Effects and Social Norms Influencing Family Planning Use in Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights how entrenched social norms—such as son preference, expectations to avoid contraception before the first child, and misconceptions about side effects—shape contraceptive use in Nepal. These norms are reinforced by family pressures, particularly from husbands and mothers-in-law, and by community-wide surveillance of women’s reproductive choices. The discussion emphasizes that […]
Our mothers do not tell us: A qualitative study of adolescent girls’ perspectives on sexual and reproductive health in rural Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Deeply entrenched norms around gender, sexuality, and family honor significantly limit adolescent girls’ autonomy and access to care. Girls are expected to remain silent, obedient, and sexually inactive, and those who seek SRH services risk social judgment or violence. Interventions must address these collective norms—especially the silence around sexuality and stigma […]
Multilevel factors influencing contraceptive use and childbearing among adolescent girls in Bara district of Nepal: a qualitative study using the socioecological model
Objectives: This study aimed to identify and examine the multilevel factors influencing contraceptive use and childbearing decisions among married adolescent girls in Bara district, Nepal, using the socioecological model to understand how individual, relational, community, and structural influences interact. Methods: A qualitative study design was used, incorporating in-depth interviews (IDIs) with 60 participants—20 married adolescent […]
Mixed Methods Assessment of Women’s Risk of Intimate Partner Violence in Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores the significant role of gender norms in influencing women’s risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nepal. While individual attitudes toward gender equity were not significantly associated with IPV, more gender-equitable community norms were linked with reduced IPV risk. The case study further highlighted how deeply embedded […]
Men on the Move and the Wives Left Behind: The Impact of Migration on Family Planning in Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals how patriarchal and extended family norms continue to shape young women’s reproductive health experiences in Nepal, particularly when their husbands migrate for work. Despite gaining more autonomy in some areas, women with migrant husbands still navigate deeply entrenched norms around spousal absence, fertility expectations, and decision-making power controlled […]
Factors associated with contraceptive use in rural Nepal: Gender and decision-making
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Gender roles, particularly those that support shared responsibility for child-rearing, play a significant role in contraceptive use among rural couples in Nepal. While mutual spousal decision-making is often assumed to influence contraceptive uptake, this study found limited direct association. Instead, more equitable gender norms—such as men contributing to childcare and not […]
Cross-national and multilevel correlates of partner violence: an analysis of data from population-based surveys
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Norms justifying wife beating and endorsing male authority over women’s behavior are strongly associated with higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). These gender norms not only influence national IPV prevalence but also modify how individual-level factors like education and employment affect women’s risk, highlighting the importance of transforming harmful norms […]