Key Social Norms Take-aways In Uganda, restrictive gender norms are instilled in children from an early age, deeply shaping adolescent girls’ experiences of sexuality and limiting their agency. Boys are encouraged to express and explore sexuality, while girls are expected to be passive, modest, and solely responsible for preventing sexual activity and its consequences. These expectations are reinforced by parents, teachers, and communities, often through fear, surveillance, and shaming. Girls face greater scrutiny, are blamed for sexual advances or outcomes like pregnancy—even when coerced—and are discouraged from reporting sexual violence. These social norms normalize gender inequality and perpetuate silence and stigma around female sexuality.
Objectives To explore how gender-related social norms influence the sexual agency of young adolescents aged 12–14 in Western Uganda and to examine how these norms are taught, internalized, and enforced by families, schools, and communities.
Methods This qualitative study used 44 in-depth interviews and 11 focus group discussions involving 132 participants, including adolescents, parents, and teachers across rural and urban schools in Mbarara District. Participants were purposively sampled. Data were analyzed using open and axial coding to identify key themes related to gender roles, sexual behavior, agency, and social expectations.
Results Findings revealed a sharp divide in how sexuality is constructed for boys and girls. Boys were often proud of their sexual activity, spoke openly about multiple relationships, and faced few repercussions. In contrast, girls were taught to be ashamed of sexual expression and feared being labeled or punished. Parents and teachers promoted messages that framed girls as needing protection and restriction to avoid shame or pregnancy. Girls bore the full burden of sexual responsibility and were discouraged from speaking out about harassment or abuse. Boys’ advances were seen as normal, while girls were blamed for “inviting” them. Sexuality education, where it existed, focused almost entirely on controlling girls’ behavior rather than promoting equality or consent.
Conclusions Gender norms significantly undermine girls’ sexual agency and health outcomes from an early age. Programs aiming to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health must target these norms directly by engaging not just adolescents but also their parents, teachers, and communities. Interventions should promote comprehensive, gender-sensitive sexuality education and challenge the structural and cultural norms that perpetuate male dominance and female subordination.