Gender Norms, Violence in Childhood, and Men’s Coercive Control in Marriage: A Multilevel Analysis of Young Men in Bangladesh
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study uses the Gender-Equitable Men (GEM) scale to measure gender attitudes, with community-level aggregates from senior men (ages 35–49) serving as a proxy for social norms. Findings show that more equitable community gender norms are linked to less controlling behavior and more gender-equitable attitudes among junior men (ages 18–34). This […]
Factors associated with sexual and reproductive health stigma among adolescent girls in Ghana
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights how pervasive gendered social norms frame adolescent sexuality as shameful and dangerous. These norms fuel stigma around contraception, pregnancy, and SRH care-seeking. Interventions must challenge these beliefs through comprehensive SRH education, supportive dialogue, and community-wide norm change efforts that empower girls with information, confidence, and access to services. […]
Exploring the socio-ecological levels for prevention of sexual risk behaviours of the youth in uMgungundlovu District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms that endorse male dominance, multiple partnerships, and early sexual activity significantly shape youth sexual behaviours in uMgungundlovu, KwaZulu-Natal. These norms, entrenched across family, community, and institutional levels, particularly disadvantage girls, fostering gender inequality, intimate partner violence, and limited sexual agency. The findings stress that interventions must address not just […]
Eat and you will be eaten’: A qualitative study exploring costs and benefits of age-disparate sexual relationships in Tanzania and Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Age-disparate sexual relationships among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Tanzania and Uganda are shaped by entrenched social and gender norms that normalize transactional sex and male dominance while limiting girls’ agency. The expression “eat and you will be eaten” reflects a widespread expectation that accepting gifts or money from […]
Do perceived contraception attitudes influence abortion stigma? Evidence from Luanda, Angola
Key Social Norms Take-aways: In Luanda, Angola, abortion stigma is shaped not only by direct views on abortion but also by perceived norms around contraception and unintended pregnancy. Supportive partner attitudes toward contraception are linked to lower abortion stigma, while community and media messages promoting contraception may unintentionally increase stigma by reinforcing expectations that pregnancies […]
Discordance, Disclosure and Normative Gender Roles: Barriers to Couple Testing Within a Community-Level HIV Self-Testing Intervention in Urban Blantyre, Malawi.
Key Social Norms Take-Aways: Norms around adolescent sexuality, rather than child marriage itself, may indirectly drive early marriage. Strong empirical expectations exist, but normative expectations and sanctions are weak. Formative research is essential to challenge assumptions about prevailing norms. Quantitative data should be paired with qualitative methods for explanatory depth. Measures of normative expectations and […]
Condom use at last sex by young men in Ethiopia: the effect of descriptive and injunctive norms
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights the importance of changing community-level norms that stigmatize condom use among young men. Programs should encourage open peer communication and reduce shame related to seeking condoms. Addressing broader attitudes toward premarital sex, masculinity, and gender relationships is essential to creating an environment where young men feel empowered to […]
Community influences on modern contraceptive use among young women in low and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional multi-country analysis
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Norms related to ideal family size, early marriage, and gender roles—particularly those that limit women’s autonomy—act as major barriers to contraceptive use. Changing these norms through community-wide interventions, education, and women’s empowerment is essential for increasing contraceptive access and supporting young women’s reproductive agency. Objectives: This study examined how community-level characteristics […]
Changing sex risk behaviors, gender norms, and relationship dynamics among couples in Cape Town, South Africa: Efficacy of an intervention on the dyad
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study approaches gender norms through the lens of individual attitudes, measuring participants’ agreement with statements reflecting equitable or inequitable beliefs about gender roles and relationship dynamics. While not direct measures of collective social norms (such as perceived community expectations or reference group behaviors), these attitudinal indicators reflect how deeply internalized […]
Bad girl and unmet family planning need among Sub-Saharan African adolescents: the role of sexual and reproductive health stigma
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Gendered social norms that shame adolescent girls for being sexually active are central to the stigma they face. These norms create major barriers to accessing family planning and must be directly challenged through stigma-reduction strategies. Objectives: This study examined how sexual and reproductive health (SRH) stigma affects adolescent girls’ ability to […]