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 […]
Empowerment and Intimate Partner Violence in Pakistan: Results From a Nationally Representative Survey.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Adherence to patriarchal norms—particularly the justification of wife beating—emerges as the strongest and most consistent predictor of women’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Pakistan. These norms reflect deeply embedded societal expectations that legitimize male control and violence, indicating that shifts in social norms are critical for reducing IPV beyond […]
Social Dominance, Sexual Double Standards, and Violence Against Women in Tight and Loose Cultures.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Sexual double standards function as powerful social norms and “legitimizing myths” that justify gender inequality and violence against women across both tight and loose cultural contexts. Even where norms differ in strictness (e.g., Pakistan vs. U.S.), the underlying normative processes linking hierarchy, gendered expectations, and acceptance of violence are strikingly similar. […]
The Role of Social Norm in Acceptability Attitude of Women Toward Intimate Partner Violence in Punjab, Pakistan.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that social norms at the community level strongly shape individual attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV). When wife-beating is perceived as a common and accepted norm within a community, women are significantly more likely to justify IPV themselves, highlighting the powerful role of collective expectations in sustaining harmful […]
Women’s Agency as Reason for Life Threats Among the Pashtuns in Pakistan: Narratives of Women Fleeing Honor Killing and Masculine Domination.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms tied to honor (izzat) and masculinity (ghairat) function as powerful regulatory mechanisms that legitimize violence against women who deviate from expected gender roles. The study highlights that threats of honor killing are not simply individual acts of violence but are socially sanctioned responses to perceived norm violations, particularly when […]
Daughters-in-law’s perceptions and experiences with MILAP, a family-based intervention to reduce intimate partner violence and improve mental health in Nepal
Key Social Norms Takeaways: Social norms embedded in multigenerational households—particularly hierarchical gender norms granting authority to mothers-in-law and husbands—play a central role in shaping women’s autonomy, exposure to IPV, and mental health. The intervention demonstrates that shifting intra-family norms around communication, respect, decision-making, and women’s mobility can reduce violence and improve well-being. Importantly, norms change […]
Preparing for constructive engagement with men’s resistance to gender equality messaging: lessons from an intimate partner violence prevention programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Key Social Norms Takeaways: Men’s resistance to gender equality messaging is not simply opposition but reflects active negotiation of social norms. These resistance “scripts” both reinforce existing patriarchal norms and create openings for dialogue and incremental change. Social norms around male authority, respect, and acceptable violence remain deeply embedded, but the process of contestation—especially in […]
Empowering Youth Through Evidence: Applying Outcome Harvesting to Evaluate Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Advocacy in Ethiopia.
Key Social Norms Takeaways: Social norms around gender, harmful traditional practices, and youth roles can shift through participatory, youth-led advocacy that engages community gatekeepers such as religious and traditional leaders. The study highlights that changing norms is a non-linear, community-driven process, where empowering youth as visible advocates and decision-makers helps reshape expectations around practices like […]
“I have learned that nothing is given for free”: an exploratory qualitative evaluation of a social norms edutainment intervention broadcast on local radio to prevent age-disparate transactional sex in Kigoma, Tanzania.
Key Social Norms Takeaways: Edutainment can initiate shifts in harmful social norms by challenging misperceptions, reducing victim-blaming, and promoting new shared expectations—particularly around gender, responsibility, and transactional sex. However, norms change requires broad community engagement; without sufficient exposure (e.g., among men), entrenched norms persist. The study highlights that norm change begins with individual reflection and […]
Acceptability, Feasibility, and Preliminary Efficacy of Schools Championing Safe South Africa, a Social Norms Intervention to Prevent HIV Risk Behavior and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence Among Teenage Boys.
Key Social Norms Takeaways: Correcting misperceived social norms—particularly adolescents’ overestimation of peers’ risky or harmful behaviors—can reduce sexual violence perpetration in the short term. Peer- and school-based normative feedback is especially influential during adolescence, as social environments strongly shape behavior; however, norms change alone is insufficient without reinforcement and complementary behavior change strategies. Objectives: This […]