RCT evaluation of Skhokho: A holistic school intervention to prevent gender-based violence among South African Grade 8s
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that school- and family-based interventions can contribute to the prevention of intimate partner violence among adolescents by addressing the broader social norms that underpin gender inequality and the normalization of violence. Findings suggest that improving communication, promoting gender-equitable attitudes, and challenging the acceptance of corporal punishment and other […]
Using soccer to build confidence and increase HCT uptake among adolescent girls: a mixed-methods study of an HIV prevention programme in South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The SKILLZ Street intervention highlights how challenging harmful gender norms in a girls-only, sport-based setting can enhance adolescent girls’ confidence, communication, and health-seeking behavior. By creating a safe space and using female community coaches as role models, the program addressed stigma, gender inequality, and the perception of soccer as male-only, fostering […]
Examining diffusion to understand the how of SASA!, a violence against women and HIV prevention intervention in Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the importance of community-led social norms transformation in reducing violence against women. The SASA! intervention facilitated behavior change by challenging gender norms that underpin intimate partner violence and HIV vulnerability. The success of SASA! was linked to its ability to diffuse ideas through multiple communication channels and within […]
A Family-Focused, Sibling-Synchronous Intervention in Borno State, Nigeria: Exploring the Impact on Family Functioning and Household Gender Roles
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights that improving gender equity and reducing violence within families demands more than targeting girls alone. Engaging boys, caregivers, and the broader household in open dialogue about power, roles, and relationships is essential for transforming social norms. Programs that create space for cross-generational, gender-inclusive conversations can help challenge entrenched […]
Changes in Family-Level Attitudes and Norms and Association with Secondary School Completion and Child Marriage Among Adolescent Girls: Results from an Exploratory Study Nested Within a Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial in India
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Indirect norms—like expectations to protect family honor by limiting girls’ freedom—powerfully shape girls’ futures. Effective interventions must target not just households but also the broader social networks that uphold these practices. Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of the Samata intervention, a three-year multilayered program in northern Karnataka, India, designed to […]
Boys’ perspectives on girls’ marriage and school dropout: a qualitative study revisiting a structural intervention in Southern India
Key Social Norms Take-Aways: Boys were influenced by norms portraying them as both threats to and protectors of girls’ reputations. While some adopted more equitable attitudes, their behaviors remained shaped by dominant masculinity and family honor norms. Interventions must go beyond individual change to engage peer networks and broader community structures in shifting power and […]
“I got courage from knowing that even a daughter-in-law can earn her living”: Mixed methods evaluation of a family-centred intervention to prevent violence against women and girls in Nepal.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study underscores that transforming gender norms within families—by working with both women and men, as well as older and younger generations—can create meaningful change, reducing violence and enhancing women’s empowerment. Objectives: This study evaluates a family-centered intervention in Nepal designed to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG) by addressing […]
Effectiveness of a multilevel intervention to reduce violence and increase condom use in intimate partnerships among female sex workers: cluster randomised controlled trial in Karnataka, India
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Samvedana Plus reduced the acceptance of intimate partner violence, increased awareness of self-protection strategies, and fostered solidarity among sex workers. These findings highlight the importance of addressing deeply embedded norms that normalize violence in intimate relationships but also emphasize that changing norms may require broader structural and community-level engagement beyond […]
Patriarchy and gender-inequitable attitudes as drivers of intimate partner violence against women in the central region of Ghana.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study shows that IPV in this context is not just individual behavior but part of a broader social system supported by patriarchal norms, rigid gender hierarchies, and notions of male authority. Successful prevention efforts must directly target these social norms, emphasizing community-wide change, the transformation of masculine ideals, and the […]
Application of Community Dialogue Approach to Prevent Adolescent Pregnancy, Early Marriage and School Dropout in Zambia: A Case Study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the potential of community dialogue approaches to shift entrenched social norms around adolescent pregnancy, early marriage, and school dropout in Zambia. Dialogues facilitated critical reflection among parents, reduced cultural taboos around discussing sexual and reproductive health, and fostered more open parent-child communication. Despite cultural resistance to topics like […]