Evaluation of Girls Invest, an economic empowerment intervention to address social and economic risks associated with intimate partner violence among adolescent girls in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Girls Invest suggests that combining economic empowerment with gender-equity education can help adolescent girls critically question restrictive gender roles and strengthen their ability to respond to gender discrimination. Girls described recognizing norms that privilege male authority and restrict girls’ educational and economic opportunities, and shared intervention lessons with friends and family, […]
Parental and Adolescent Factors predicting Protective Sexual Behaviors among In-School Adolescents: A Positive Deviance Explanation
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Peer sexual norms are an important influence on adolescents’ protective sexual behaviors. Adolescents who perceived their peers as more accepting of sexual activity were less likely to abstain or practice safer sex. The discussion further emphasizes that these peer influences operate within broader gendered norms: girls may face unequal sanctions for […]
Factors Influencing Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence Among Married Women: A Multilevel Analysis Across 20 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Acceptance of intimate partner violence reflects patriarchal gender norms that can normalize violence against women. Women surveyed between 2019 and 2022 were substantially less likely to justify intimate partner violence than those in earlier surveys, which the authors suggest may reflect shifting social norms and greater awareness. Education and women’s decision-making […]
Social ecosystems of trafficked conflict-related sexual violence survivors and their children: navigating and coping with intersecting stigma and violence in Nigeria and Iraq.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Community-level social and gender norms are central drivers of stigma toward women and girls who survived trafficking and conflict-related sexual violence and their children born of war. Norms surrounding premarital sex and childbirth, virginity, purity, family honor, marriageability, paternity, and community identity interact with conflict-related fear and perceptions of affiliation with […]
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 […]
Male Contraceptive Methods: Understanding Men and Women’s Views and Related Relationship Dynamics via Nationally Representative Surveys in Six Countries.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Gender expectations around contraceptive responsibility are important for introducing new male contraceptive methods. Most men and women supported shared responsibility, communication, and decision-making, but respondents in African countries generally reported less equitable attitudes and lower trust than those in Asian countries. The authors emphasize that regional and cultural differences, alongside concerns […]
Landscaping the behaviors, drivers and norms influencing the wellbeing of very young adolescents: an exploration of stakeholders’ perspectives in Nigeria.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Harmful gender norms and sociocultural expectations operate across multiple areas of very young adolescents’ lives in Nigeria, reinforcing early marriage, gender-based violence, girls’ economic dependency, silence around sexuality, and vaccine hesitancy. The discussion emphasizes that these behaviors are embedded in unequal social structures and sustained by stigma, community expectations, misinformation, and […]
Preventing unwanted pregnancy among internally displaced adolescents (15-19 years) in Nigeria.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Negative injunctive norms surrounding premarital sex and contraceptive use create stigma and discrimination that restrict adolescents’ access to contraception, even when they understand its benefits and want to prevent pregnancy. Adolescents feared being labeled “spoilt” or promiscuous for having premarital sex or seeking contraception, while service providers sometimes reinforced these norms […]
Gender norms, contraceptive use, and intimate partner violence: A six-country analysis
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This cross-country study demonstrates that gender-related attitudes, used as proxies for gender norms, and couple power dynamics are important correlates of contraceptive use and intimate partner violence (IPV). Joint decision-making within couples—particularly regarding major household purchases—was consistently associated with greater modern contraceptive use and, in some settings, lower IPV, suggesting that […]
Promoting gender equity in a home visits programme: a qualitative study in Northern Nigeria
Key Social Norms Takeaways: Gender norms—particularly those governing division of labour, decision-making, and gender-based violence—are deeply embedded drivers of maternal health outcomes but can be transformed through participatory, household-level interventions that engage both women and men. The study shows that shifting norms requires addressing power dynamics within couples and fostering joint reflection, communication, and shared […]