Disability and Bullying Victimization Among Adolescents in Nepal: The Influence of Community Gender Norms
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Community gender norms—particularly those reinforcing gender inequality, violence acceptability, and rigid gender roles—shape adolescents’ vulnerability to bullying by influencing how “difference” (such as disability) is perceived and sanctioned. The discussion highlights that bullying operates as a mechanism for enforcing social norms, where adolescents with disabilities are seen as deviating from dominant […]
The paradox of enhancing male involvement in family planning uptake in rural Tanzania: insights from Bahi District, Dodoma Region
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Deeply embedded social norms—including gender role inequalities, stigma around male participation in reproductive health, and expectations that family planning (FP) is a woman’s responsibility—significantly limit male involvement in FP uptake. These norms are reinforced by peer practices (e.g., traditional gatherings), taboos around discussing sexual health, and patriarchal decision-making structures. Additionally, myths, […]
Delayed pregnancy disclosure, attributed social factors and implications for antenatal care initiation: a qualitative study among Ugandan women and their partners
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around pregnancy disclosure—particularly expectations to conceal pregnancy early due to fear of judgement, stigma, and bewitchment—play a critical role in delaying access to antenatal care by limiting women’s ability to mobilize social support when it is most needed. Objectives: This study aimed to understand social norms surrounding pregnancy disclosure […]
‘Our options are limited, so we get married:’ girls, early marriage and health risks in rural Zimbabwe
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly heteropatriarchal gender norms, religious doctrines, and stigma surrounding unmarried girls—play a central role in driving early marriage, often outweighing perceived health risks. Norms linking girls’ value to sexual purity, marriageability, and obedience to male authority figures create a “risk environment” where social exclusion is feared more than health consequences, […]
Multigenerational attitudes to gender norms on intimate partner violence and the sexual and reproductive health of young people in Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around intimate partner violence (IPV) appear to be strongly entrenched and transmitted across generations, with little variation in attitudes, suggesting persistent normalization of harmful beliefs. In contrast, norms related to sexuality and reproductive health are more dynamic, with younger generations showing more egalitarian attitudes, likely due to increased access […]
The Weight of Expectations: Child Marriage Through the Lens of the Socio-Health Dissonance Model (SHDM) in Ghana
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly those tied to parental prestige, community expectations, and authority of traditional leaders—strongly sustain child marriage in rural Ghana. These norms create pressure to conform to early marriage as a marker of respectability and social status, even when individuals are aware of its harms. The Socio-Health Dissonance Model (SHDM) highlights […]
Balancing pragmatism, norms and power relations: a qualitative study among post-abortion intrauterine device users in central Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around gender roles, fertility expectations, and male dominance in reproductive decision-making both constrain and shape women’s contraceptive use; however, women actively navigate and resist these norms through strategies such as asserting bodily autonomy, relying on pragmatic and economic reasoning, and using contraception covertly. Compassionate counselling can help shift perceived […]
Teenage Pregnancy and Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Marriage and Pregnancy: Primary Data Analysis in Akatsi North, Ghana
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly peer pressure, gender norms, and stigma around sexual and reproductive health—play a central role in shaping adolescents’ attitudes and behaviors related to marriage and pregnancy. Peer norms strongly influence earlier desired timing of marriage and childbirth, while more gender-equitable norms (e.g., valuing girls’ education) are associated with delaying these […]
Exploring the impact of perceived early marriage on women’s education and employment in Bangladesh through a mixed-methods study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms play a central role in shaping girls’ perceptions and decisions around early marriage, with norms around safety, family honor, gender roles, and acceptable relationships driving both parental pressure and girls’ own choices. Early marriage is often normalized and even desired as a socially sanctioned pathway to security, adulthood, and […]
A Social-Ecological Model to Explore Multi-Faceted Drivers of Child Marriage: An Iterative Qualitative Study in Southern Bangladesh
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Child marriage in southern Bangladesh is sustained by deeply entrenched and interconnected social norms—particularly those linking family honor to girls’ sexuality, expectations of female purity and obedience, and beliefs about girls’ limited social and economic roles. These norms constrain girls’ agency, justify parental control, and normalize early marriage as a protective […]