Rethinking HIV-prevention for school-going young people based on current behaviour patterns.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Perceived social norms—especially peer expectations around sexual activity—were the strongest predictors of risk behavior. Gender norms that promote male dominance and discourage condom use contribute to risky practices. The study underscores the need to reshape social norms through peer group interventions, gender-transformative education, and community-wide engagement, particularly involving caregivers. Sustainable change […]
Processing gender: lived experiences of reproducing and transforming gender norms over the life course of young people in Northern Uganda.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that changing gender norms is not a straightforward process; it involves ongoing negotiation shaped by personal, social, and structural forces. Interventions that aim to shift harmful norms must engage families, peers, schools, and communities, while also empowering young people with knowledge, confidence, and supportive networks to challenge inequitable […]
Our mothers do not tell us: A qualitative study of adolescent girls’ perspectives on sexual and reproductive health in rural Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Deeply entrenched norms around gender, sexuality, and family honor significantly limit adolescent girls’ autonomy and access to care. Girls are expected to remain silent, obedient, and sexually inactive, and those who seek SRH services risk social judgment or violence. Interventions must address these collective norms—especially the silence around sexuality and stigma […]
Peer network influence on intimate partner violence perpetration among urban Tanzanian men
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Peer networks significantly influence men’s attitudes and behaviors around intimate partner violence (IPV) in urban Tanzania. Men internalize or conform to group norms that reinforce traditional gender roles and male dominance. These norms are rarely challenged within peer groups and sometimes actively enforced. Effective IPV prevention must address peer group dynamics, […]
Negotiating Collective and Individual Agency: A Qualitative Study of Young Women’s Reproductive Health in Rural India
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights that young women’s ability to exercise reproductive agency is tightly linked to the social norms and collective expectations governing their bodies and choices. Programs that only target women risk reinforcing the very power structures they aim to challenge; instead, interventions must engage families, communities, and healthcare systems to […]
Obstacles to the realization of women’s reproductive health rights in Zimbabwe
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This article highlights how entrenched gender norms undermine women’s sexual and reproductive health rights. Norms such as male dominance, expectations of female sexual compliance, polygamy, and wife inheritance severely restrict women’s autonomy. These norms are reinforced by cultural beliefs and practices that prioritize male authority, making it difficult for women to […]
One Step Forwards half a Step Backwards: Changing Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence in Bangladesh.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around male dominance, female obedience, and marital permanence remain powerful drivers of IPV. Progress in women’s rights must be matched by efforts to transform these norms—especially among men and boys—if violence is to decline sustainably. Programming should engage whole communities, address backlash, and support women as they navigate shifting […]
Men’s Perpetration of Partner Violence in Bangladesh: Community Gender Norms and Violence in Childhood
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that gender-equitable community norms among senior men are associated with lower levels of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrated by younger men in Bangladesh. However, these norms do not mitigate the increased risk of IPV linked to childhood exposure to violence. This suggests that while shifting norms is […]
Mixed Methods Assessment of Women’s Risk of Intimate Partner Violence in Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores the significant role of gender norms in influencing women’s risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nepal. While individual attitudes toward gender equity were not significantly associated with IPV, more gender-equitable community norms were linked with reduced IPV risk. The case study further highlighted how deeply embedded […]
Multilevel factors influencing contraceptive use and childbearing among adolescent girls in Bara district of Nepal: a qualitative study using the socioecological model
Objectives: This study aimed to identify and examine the multilevel factors influencing contraceptive use and childbearing decisions among married adolescent girls in Bara district, Nepal, using the socioecological model to understand how individual, relational, community, and structural influences interact. Methods: A qualitative study design was used, incorporating in-depth interviews (IDIs) with 60 participants—20 married adolescent […]