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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Navigating fertility, reproduction and modern contraception in the fragile context of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo: ‘Les enfants sont une richesse’
Key Social Norms Take-aways: In South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, social norms deeply shape reproductive choices, with high fertility linked to social personhood, kinship obligations, and economic hope. Modern contraception introduces new possibilities—but also new uncertainties—as women navigate entrenched gender hierarchies, religious discourses, and fears of social or physical repercussions. Contraceptive use is often […]
Men on the Move and the Wives Left Behind: The Impact of Migration on Family Planning in Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals how patriarchal and extended family norms continue to shape young women’s reproductive health experiences in Nepal, particularly when their husbands migrate for work. Despite gaining more autonomy in some areas, women with migrant husbands still navigate deeply entrenched norms around spousal absence, fertility expectations, and decision-making power controlled […]
Marriage and sexual and reproductive health of Rohingya adolescents and youth in Bangladesh: a qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals that among the Rohingya refugee community, social norms around marriage and reproduction are deeply rooted in religious beliefs, gender roles, and protection concerns. Child marriage is widely accepted and tied to norms linking female maturity with readiness for marriage, religious duty, and family honor. Large families are socially […]
Married Women’s Justification of Intimate Partner Violence in Bangladesh: Examining Community Norm and Individual-Level Risk Factors.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Findings suggest that community-level norms around intimate partner violence (IPV) are the strongest predictors of women’s justification of IPV in Bangladesh. Specifically, living in communities where wife beating is widely accepted significantly increases the likelihood that women will also view IPV as justified, regardless of their individual characteristics. This underscores the […]
Measuring personal beliefs and perceived norms about intimate partner violence: Population-based survey experiment in rural Uganda.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The findings reveal that social norms around IPV are shaped by whether women are perceived as blameworthy. People are more likely to condone violence if a woman is seen as intentionally violating expectations. The study found that, in the measurement of personal beliefs and perceived norms about the acceptability of intimate […]
Measuring social norms of intimate partner violence to exert control over wife agency, sexuality, and reproductive autonomy: an item response modelling of the IPV-ASRA scale
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study confirms that social norms justifying intimate partner violence to control women’s agency, sexuality, and reproductive autonomy are measurable, culturally salient, and linked to male perpetration of violence in Niger. Importantly, the norms that sanction violence when women challenge male authority—such as going out without permission or arguing—are more strongly […]