Key Social Norms Take-aways The REAL Fathers case study demonstrates that gender norms should be identified and addressed as specific, locally grounded expectations rather than broad concepts of masculinity or gender inequality. Participatory research revealed meaningful regional differences in how norms are enforced, underscoring the importance of community involvement, local partnerships, and attention to reference groups and sanctions when designing and evaluating norms-transformative interventions.

Objectives The article describes how the REAL Fathers Consortium identified context-specific gender norms related to father–child caregiving and gender-based violence across six regions of Uganda and used these findings to adapt intervention strategies and develop measures for evaluating norms change.

Methods The Consortium conducted a qualitative Social and Gender Norms Exploration using participatory focus group activities, including influence mapping, social network mapping, problem trees, vignettes, and pocket charts. Seventy-one focus group discussions included 1,044 young fathers, female partners, and influential community members across Ankole, Buganda, Busoga, Bunyoro, Teso, and Lango. Analysis distinguished descriptive and injunctive norms and identified reference groups, rewards, and sanctions, followed by validation workshops with 144 community representatives.

Intervention Details REAL Fathers uses trained older fathers to mentor young fathers on positive parenting, nonviolent discipline, gender equity, and respectful couple communication. Findings from the norms exploration were incorporated into mentor training and a social norms and behavior change communication campaign using community conversations and a seven-poster series. The Consortium also adapted existing gender norms measures and developed new descriptive and injunctive norm items on child discipline, translated and cognitively tested in six local languages.

Results Four prominent norms emerged: men should financially provide while women care for children; men should socialize rather than return home immediately after work; husbands may be expected to beat wives under certain circumstances; and parents are expected to discipline children, often harshly. Although these norms appeared across regions, their enforcement and associated sanctions varied substantially by context.

Conclusions Locally led, multidisciplinary partnerships can improve the identification, interpretation, measurement, and targeting of context-specific gender norms. The authors conclude that explicitly addressing specific norms and the social mechanisms sustaining them can strengthen interventions aimed at transforming harmful gender relations and reducing violence.