Association of collective attitudes and contraceptive practice in nine sub-Saharan African countries
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Community-level gender norms—specifically permissive attitudes toward premarital sex and accepting attitudes toward wife-beating—significantly influence contraceptive use and demand satisfaction among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Permissive norms are associated with greater contraceptive use, while norms accepting wife-beating are linked to lower use. Addressing these norms is key to improving reproductive health outcomes. […]
Age-disparate and intergenerational sex partnerships and HIV: the role of gender norms among adolescent girls and young women in Malawi.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Inequitable gender norms—such as male control over women’s healthcare decisions, tolerance of violence, and stigmatization of sexually active women—greatly magnify HIV risks for AGYW in age-mixing relationships. Programs must challenge these harmful norms while promoting girls’ autonomy, education, and economic opportunities to effectively reduce HIV vulnerability. Objectives: This study examined how […]
Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Ethiopia and Rwanda: A Qualitative Exploration of the Role of Social Norms
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms in Ethiopia and Rwanda heavily shape adolescents’ experiences of sexual and reproductive health (SRH), with gender playing a central role. Norms around puberty, sexuality, menstruation, marriage, and sexual violence impose greater restrictions and expectations on girls than boys. Girls are expected to remain sexually “pure” and are held responsible […]
Adolescent-led marriage in Somaliland and Puntland: A surprising interaction of agency and social norms.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around premarital sex, parental control, and peer prestige play a crucial role in sustaining adolescent-led marriage, even when individuals privately disapprove. The study underscores that interventions must go beyond empowering adolescents—they must also address the wider normative system that limits their options. Working only with youth may be ineffective […]
Access to adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in Accra, Ghana: An exploratory qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: In Accra, Ghana, gendered and cultural norms deeply influence adolescents’ access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Social expectations stigmatize sexuality, especially for girls, who are often judged harshly for seeking contraception or information. Boys face pressure to perform masculinity through sexual activity. These norms contribute to shame, misinformation, and […]
A Qualitative Study of Intimate Partner Violence Among Women in Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals how deeply rooted patriarchal and cultural norms in Nigeria contribute to intimate partner violence (IPV). Women are expected to be submissive, defer to husbands and in-laws, and endure abuse for the sake of family honor and children. These norms discourage help-seeking and normalize suffering. Effective prevention must directly […]
A reconfiguration of the sex trade: How social and structural changes in eastern Zimbabwe left women involved in sex work and transactional sex more vulnerable
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study shows how social norms around sex work in Zimbabwe were reconfigured during a period of economic collapse and heightened HIV awareness. While overt commercial sex became more stigmatized and publicly condemned—framed as a threat to community health and morality—transactional sex became more widespread and less visible, especially among women […]
‘You have a child who will call you “mama”’: Understanding Adolescent Pregnancy in South Sudan
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms in South Sudan deeply value motherhood as a marker of adulthood and worth, shaping girls’ choices and aspirations. Effective interventions must go beyond preventing adolescent pregnancy to challenge the underlying social and gender norms, create supportive environments, and offer alternative pathways for girls to achieve respect, security, and fulfillment […]
“Girls Have More Challenges; They Need to Be Locked Up”: A Qualitative Study of Gender Norms and the Sexuality of Young Adolescents in Uganda
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 […]
Why context matters for social norms interventions: The case of child marriage in Cameroon
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores that social norms sustaining child marriage differ significantly by context and cannot be addressed through one-size-fits-all interventions. Across the four communities studied, the alignment or misalignment between people’s private attitudes and community norms varied, influencing the effectiveness of potential interventions. Some communities practiced child marriage despite widespread personal […]