Preventing violence against women and girls in Bihar: challenges for implementation and evaluation
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Do Kadam Barabari Ki Ore program demonstrated that interventions embedded within government platforms can begin to shift social norms around gender and violence, particularly when tailored to participants’ interests and accompanied by trusted community figures. Notably, efforts to build women’s agency, change male attitudes about masculinity, and equip community leaders […]
Preventing violence against refugee adolescent girls: findings from a cluster randomized controlled trial in Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The COMPASS intervention in Ethiopian refugee camps influenced social norms around gender, education, marriage, and social support, even though it did not significantly reduce violence within the 12-month evaluation period. Girls in the intervention reported more gender-equitable beliefs regarding education, marriage age, and childbearing, and had stronger social networks. These shifts […]
Community mobilization to modify harmful gender norms and reduce HIV risk: results from a community cluster randomized trial in South Africa.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that community mobilization (CM) can shift harmful gender norms among men, creating more supportive social environments for HIV prevention. However, changing norms did not immediately translate into reductions in risk behaviors, highlighting the complexity of transforming norms into action. The findings suggest that norm change may precede behavioral […]
Gender-transformative Bandebereho couples’ intervention to promote male engagement in reproductive and maternal health and violence prevention in Rwanda: Findings from a randomized controlled trial
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Bandebereho intervention demonstrates that deeply entrenched gender norms—such as men’s dominance in decision-making, use of violence against women and children, and unequal household labor—can shift through a structured, gender-transformative approach. By promoting critical reflection, joint decision-making, and shared caregiving roles, the intervention disrupted patriarchal norms in a sustainable way. Male […]
Engaging Men in Family Planning: Perspectives From Married Men in Loma, Togo
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights that entrenched gender norms shape male engagement in family planning, particularly the belief that men should have the final say in reproductive decisions. These norms create barriers for women’s agency and complicate their autonomous use of contraception. However, men’s openness to learning and their respect for trusted community […]
Human rights versus societal norms: a mixed methods study among healthcare providers on social stigma related to adolescent abortion and contraceptive use in Kisumu, Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study explores the tension healthcare providers face between upholding adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health rights and navigating restrictive societal norms in Kisumu, Kenya. While the study does not explicitly measure social norms using constructs like descriptive or injunctive norms, it uses two stigma-focused tools—the Stigmatising Attitudes, Beliefs and Actions Scale […]
Tracing change in female genital mutilation/cutting: Shifting norms and practices among communities in Narok and Kisii counties, Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Shifting social norms—particularly around marriageability, sexual morality, and ethnic identity—are central to understanding both persistence and change in female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Kenya’s Narok and Kisii counties. While health risk messaging has increased public awareness, it has not substantially changed norms rooted in tradition, identity, and fear of social sanctions. […]
The role of older women in contesting norms associated with female genital mutilation/cutting in Senegambia: A factorial focus group analysis.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals that female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Senegambia is maintained through a constellation of intersecting social norms related to tradition, social hierarchy, and moral virtue, particularly among women. While often portrayed as custodians of harmful tradition, older women in Senegambia were found to be open to reassessing and renegotiating […]
The Relationship Between Parental Mediation of Adolescent Media Use and Ugandan Adolescents’ Sexual Attitudes and Behavior
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that in Uganda, adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behaviors are shaped not only by media content but also by the social context in which media is consumed. Watching media—particularly sexual content—with opposite-sex peers was associated with more permissive attitudes toward casual sex. Parental efforts to limit media exposure, a […]
The effect of a community based health promotion intervention to change gender norms among women in a rural community in Sri Lanka
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms in this context position women as primary caregivers and homemakers, while framing male dominance, aggression, and decision-making as natural. These norms were widely accepted and normalized among women prior to the intervention. However, by linking gender norms to family health and well-being, and facilitating peer-led questioning of traditional roles, […]