Barriers to accessing maternal health care amongst pregnant adolescents in South Africa: a qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates how entrenched social norms surrounding adolescent sexuality and gender roles in South Africa create significant barriers to accessing maternal health care for pregnant adolescents. Norms that frame adolescent pregnancy as shameful and deviant—particularly outside of marriage—generate fear, guilt, and stigma, which young women internalize. These norms are reinforced […]
Approaches to Regulating Adolescent Sexual Behavior in Ghana: Qualitative Evidence from Somanya and Adidome
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights how collective community norms — especially informal surveillance and shared social responsibility — play a key role in delaying adolescent sexual behavior. In Adidome, strong communal norms and active neighborhood monitoring contributed to lower HIV rates, while in Somanya, weakened cultural practices and lower community cohesion were linked […]
Area-Level Normative Social Context and Intimate Partner Physical Violence in Mozambique
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that normative social contexts—particularly community-level religious norms, early marriage practices, and female education—significantly shape both women’s acceptance of spousal abuse and their risk of experiencing intimate partner physical violence (IPV) in Mozambique. The findings highlight that religious norms in some contexts may protect against IPV acceptance, while early […]
An Exploration of Social Norms That Restrict Girls’ Sexuality and Facilitate Child Marriage in Bangladesh to Inform Policies and Programs
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores that persistent social norms designed to control adolescent girls’ sexuality are central to the continuation of child marriage in rural Bangladesh. Norms that restrict girls’ mobility, prohibit interaction with male peers, and exclude girls from decision-making around their own marriage are driven by concerns about family honor and […]
Adolescent girls trapped in early marriage social norm in rural Ethiopia: A vignette-based qualitative exploration
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Early marriage in rural Ethiopia is upheld by strong social norms enforced by peers, parents, marriage brokers, and community members. Girls are expected to accept early marriage proposals—often seen as rare opportunities—and refusal can result in stigma, isolation, or even coercion. These norms persist due to conditional preferences: individuals conform because […]
Adolescents’ capabilities and aspirations across gender and generations in Amhara, Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that despite progressive policy reforms across three Ethiopian political regimes, persistent gender norms—particularly those around early marriage, ideal femininity, and sexual purity—continued to shape and constrain adolescent girls’ capabilities and aspirations. Social norms rooted in cultural and religious beliefs often superseded formal protections and legal frameworks. Notably, the […]
Adolescents’ utilization of reproductive health services in Kaduna, Nigeria: the role of stigma
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study illustrates how deeply embedded religious and cultural norms in Kaduna, Nigeria, create stigma around adolescent sexual activity and the use of sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS). These norms, which equate premarital sex with immorality, result in strong community disapproval and internalized shame among adolescents—particularly girls. Adolescents fear being […]
A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Explaining Non-Uptake of Hormonal Contraceptives Among Adolescent Girls in Rural Ghana: The Adolescent Girls’ Perspective.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Prevailing social and gender norms in rural Ghana strongly discourage adolescent girls from using hormonal contraceptives, associating their use with sexual promiscuity and moral failure. These norms—reinforced by families, religious teachings, and the wider community—create an environment of stigma, shame, and fear. Girls internalize these expectations, leading to reluctance in seeking […]
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 Spatial Analysis of the Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting among 0–14-Year-Old Girls in Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study provides robust evidence that social, moral, and religious norms at the community level are powerful drivers of FGM/C among girls aged 0–14 in Kenya. A mother’s circumcision status, support for continuation of the practice, and belief in its religious necessity are closely linked to her daughter’s risk of being […]