ADOLESCENT TRANSITION IN WEST AFRICA (ATWA) OUTCOME EVALUATION 2022-2023 Endline Report
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The ATWA program demonstrates that comprehensive, school- and community-based life skills education can lead to early shifts in social norms around gender and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights. Although short-term changes in community-level norms were modest, significant improvements in adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, and gender-equitable beliefs suggest that norms around […]
Community Gender Norms Change as a Part of a Multilevel Approach to Sexual Health Among Married Women in Mumbai, India
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that key to successful change was aligning gender-equity messages with respected religious doctrine and delivering them through credible sources. Men’s attitudes shifted more rapidly, suggesting the value of engaging male authority figures. In contrast, women’s slower adoption may reflect caution due to possible negative consequences in a patriarchal […]
Transforming gender norms through life-skills programming in rural Ethiopia: short-term impacts and emerging lessons for adaptive programming: Oromia case study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Act With Her-Ethiopia program in Oromia demonstrated that gender-transformative life skills education can improve girls’ voice and agency, parent–adolescent communication, and knowledge around menstruation and violence. However, the program revealed limited or even negative short-term impacts on attitudes toward gender equality, indicating that shifting entrenched norms—particularly among boys and communities—requires […]
Re-conceptualising gender and power relations for sexual and reproductive health: contrasting narratives of tradition, unity, and rights
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals that gender and power relations among young adults in Malawi are shaped by competing narratives—tradition, unity, and rights—each reflecting different social norms. Traditional norms emphasize male authority and women’s obedience, but participants also expressed support for more collaborative (unity) or rights-based gender relations. The concept of “power with” […]
You can’t burn the house down because of one bedbug: a qualitative study of changing gender norms in the prevention of violence against women and girls in an urban informal settlement in India.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights that norm change is most promising where descriptive norms (what people actually do) are starting to shift ahead of injunctive norms (what people believe should be done). Programs should focus on creating spaces where women and men can connect with broader, more progressive reference groups, helping reinforce new, […]
Social normative origins of the taboo gap and implications for adolescent risk for HIV infection in Zambia.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study introduces the “taboo gap” to explain how discordance between community attitudes and behaviors around premarital sex can increase HIV risk for adolescents, particularly girls. Drawing on social norms theory, the authors argue that injunctive norms—rules about acceptable behavior—generate silence around adolescent sexuality. The taboo against openly acknowledging premarital sex […]
Changing the Script: Intergenerational Communication about Sexual and Reproductive Health in Niamey, Niger
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms discourage discussion of sexuality and FP with youth, but shared community values—especially protecting youth and promoting well-being—can be leveraged to shift behaviors. Objectives: This study explored how social norms and values shape communication between adults and unmarried youth about family planning (FP) and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in […]
What Influences Girls’ Age at Marriage in Burkina Faso and Tanzania? Exploring the Contribution of Individual, Household, and Community Level Factors
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores how social norms—particularly community expectations regarding girls’ age at marriage and parental fears of premarital sex—play a significant role in shaping the prevalence of child marriage, with notable variation by context. In Burkina Faso, social norms among fathers regarding later marriage were significantly associated with lower child marriage […]
Understanding reference groups for norms and behaviour change: the intersection of relationship dynamics and family planning
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights how reference groups—trusted individuals who influence beliefs and behaviors—shape social and gender norms related to family planning and relationship dynamics in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Godparents, pastors, friends, and health workers each influence norms in different ways and with varying effectiveness across topics. Some actors provide […]
Use of digital media for family planning information by women and their social networks in Kenya: A qualitative study in peri-urban Nairobi
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that digital media can offer safer, more discreet avenues for young women in Kenya to access and share family planning (FP) information, especially where in-person discussions are constrained by stigma and gender norms. Social norms around gender significantly influence comfort levels in discussing FP online, with women preferring […]