Stepping Stones and Creating Futures intervention: shortened interrupted time series evaluation of a behavioural and structural health promotion and violence prevention intervention for young people in informal settlements in Durban, South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that integrating economic empowerment with gender-transformative interventions can effectively shift social norms among young people in informal settlements. Notably, it found that material improvements in young women’s lives—such as increased income and reduced financial dependence—enabled them to better apply knowledge from gender-transformative programming, leading to reduced experience of […]
Findings from the SASA! Study: a cluster randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of a community mobilization intervention to prevent violence against women and reduce HIV risk in Kampala, Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The SASA! study demonstrates that community mobilization can meaningfully shift social norms related to intimate partner violence and gender equality, leading to reductions in both the social acceptance and actual experience of violence against women, and influencing HIV risk behaviors. It highlights the importance of engaging entire communities in dialogue about […]
COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT FOR HEALTH (CSH) PROGRAMME SAFE LOVE OUTCOME EVALUATION REPORT
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Safe Love campaign provides strong evidence that mass media behavior change communication (BCC) can influence social norms related to HIV prevention, particularly around condom use, HIV testing, and perceptions of sexual behavior. Notably, the campaign shifted perceptions about community approval of condom use with casual partners and the belief that […]
Gender norms, poverty and armed conflict in Cote D’Ivoire: engaging men in womens social and economic empowerment programming
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study underscores that addressing social norms about masculinity, power, and gender roles is crucial when designing interventions to reduce IPV. In contexts where men’s sense of identity is tightly linked to their economic role, programs must thoughtfully challenge inequitable norms while supporting men and women together. Combining economic empowerment with […]
Increasing literate and illiterate women’s met need for contraception via empowerment: a quasi-experiment in rural India.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that addressing gender norms within households—especially around women’s mobility and control over earnings—can empower women and increase their ability to meet contraceptive needs. Outreach visits that included messages about gender dynamics were more effective at shifting norms than clinic-based interactions alone. Programs that aim to improve family planning […]
Using behavior change communication to lead a comprehensive family planning program: the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) explicitly integrates social norms into its behavior change communication strategy, guided by the theory of ideation. The project focuses on transforming beliefs, attitudes, and social expectations—particularly around family size, spousal consent, and acceptability of contraceptive use—by using mass media, community mobilization, and interpersonal communication. […]
Effect of community-based voluntary counselling and testing on HIV incidence and social and behavioural outcomes (NIMH Project Accept; HPTN 043): a cluster-randomised trial.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that community-based voluntary counseling and testing (CBVCT) interventions can positively influence social norms around HIV testing. Community mobilization led to more favorable attitudes toward testing, particularly among men, by reducing stigma and encouraging open discussion. While stigma reduction was limited—possibly due to low baseline levels—the intervention succeeded in […]
Rape Prevention Through Empowerment of Adolescent Girls
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores the power of individual-level empowerment to shift social norms around sexual violence. By teaching adolescent girls to assert their boundaries, resist coercion, and speak out, the intervention helped dismantle norms of silence and victim-blaming. Increased disclosure and the use of verbal resistance signaled changing expectations about girls’ agency […]
An Entertainment-Education Initiative on Television A glimpse into production process
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The evaluation of Kyunki… Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai illustrates that long-running entertainment-education programs can contribute to shifts in social norms and health behaviors at scale, particularly when built on a robust theoretical foundation and broadcast consistently over time. The show significantly influenced collective perceptions around key reproductive, maternal, newborn, and […]
Using social and behavior change communication to increase HIV testing and condom use: The Malawi BRIDGE Project
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The BRIDGE II program addressed harmful norms related to gender, sexual behavior, and HIV stigma through mass media and community engagement. By challenging prevailing beliefs and encouraging community discussion, the intervention helped shift social expectations around HIV testing and condom use. These shifts supported individuals in adopting healthier behaviors within a […]