The effects of the integration of an economic strengthening and HIV prevention education programme on the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and savings behaviours among adolescents: a full-factorial randomised controlled trial in South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores that social norms, particularly those related to gender dynamics, communication about sex, and financial decision-making, play an important but complex role in shaping adolescent sexual health outcomes. While the integrated intervention aimed to shift norms around gender and economic autonomy, the study found limited evidence of behavioral change. […]
Two Sides of Gender: Sex, Power, and Adolescence
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study illustrates the importance of targeting male gender norms and attitudes about intimate partner violence and sexual relationships to improve outcomes for adolescent girls. The soccer-based intervention with boys focused on shifting norms around respect for females, age-appropriate relationships, and consent, aiming to indirectly influence girls’ sexual health by intervening […]
Enabling Girls to Advance Gender Equity (ENGAGE) Report on the Midline Evaluation Results August 2019
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The ENGAGE program illustrates that social norms—particularly those around adolescent sexuality, contraception use, child marriage, and girls’ roles in decision-making—are deeply embedded in community beliefs and practices in Southern Malawi. While norms supporting child marriage are weakening, entrenched stigma remains around girls’ sexual activity and contraceptive use, especially among unmarried girls. […]
Keeping the Essentials in Place: Lessons Learned from a Qualitative Study of DREAMS in Northern Uganda.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Programs aiming to shift entrenched gender norms must invest in facilitators’ own transformation and ensure implementation stays true to evidence-based designs. Without careful attention, interventions risk reinforcing rather than challenging norms that sustain GBV. Funders should allow time for piloting and local adaptation to maximize transformative impact. Objectives: The study aimed […]
Impact of DREAMS interventions on attitudes towards gender norms among adolescent girls and young women: Findings from a prospective cohort in Kenya.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: While DREAMS aimed to shift gender norms as part of its comprehensive HIV prevention strategy, the study found limited evidence that DREAMS invitation impacted individual attitudes toward gender norms among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Kenya. Equitable attitudes toward sexual and reproductive health (SRH) decision-making were already high, limiting […]
Effectiveness of curriculum-based sexual and reproductive health education on healthy sexual behaviors among year one students at Arba Minch University: A quasi-experimental study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Improvements in some individual attitudes about sexual and reproductive health were seen as contributors to normative change over time by challenging stigma and misinformation, even if collective norm shifts are not yet visible. The findings suggest that there is still a need for longer-term efforts and potentially more targeted strategies to […]
Community Radio Program to Improve the Health of Women and Children
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Kwishilya and Siñalamba radio serial dramas (RSDs) in Zambia show that entertainment-education can shift social norms around family planning, gender roles, and reproductive health. Regular listeners were more likely to perceive community and partner approval for contraceptive use and reported greater self-efficacy in negotiating reproductive decisions. The intervention helped normalize […]
Does Mass-Media Public Communication Campaign Normalize Discussion, Attitude and Behavior about Condom Use among Married Men in India?
Key Social Norms Take-aways: While the study does not directly measure social norms, it explores how a mass-media campaign designed to shift norms—particularly around masculinity and condom-related stigma—was associated with changes in individual attitudes, discussion, and self-efficacy. The campaign aimed to normalize condom use by reframing it as responsible and masculine, and reducing embarrassment around […]
Evaluation of the Confiance Totale Campaign in Togo: Associations Between Campaign Exposure and Family Planning Outcomes of Interest
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Confiance Totale campaign influenced perceived descriptive and injunctive norms, couple communication, and self-efficacy, suggesting that ideational changes, particularly trust in providers and peer behaviors, play a crucial role in contraceptive uptake and reproductive autonomy. The campaign had stronger effects among women, who traditionally have lower access to health information and […]
Monitoring the quality assurance branding campaign Confiance Totale in Côte d’Ivoire
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Confiance Totale campaign effectively influenced social norms related to family planning by leveraging mass media to challenge misperceptions about peer behaviors and build trust in healthcare providers. The campaign’s ideational approach shifted both descriptive and injunctive norms, particularly among women, and encouraged greater partner communication and decision-making autonomy. These changes […]