Empowerment and Intimate Partner Violence in Pakistan: Results From a Nationally Representative Survey.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Adherence to patriarchal norms—particularly the justification of wife beating—emerges as the strongest and most consistent predictor of women’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Pakistan. These norms reflect deeply embedded societal expectations that legitimize male control and violence, indicating that shifts in social norms are critical for reducing IPV beyond […]
Promoting social change through edutainment: An analysis of yolo television series
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The YOLO TV series illustrates the potential of youth-focused media to challenge entrenched gender and sexual norms in Ghana. By depicting relatable scenarios and modeling respectful, equitable relationships, YOLO disrupts dominant narratives of male sexual entitlement and female silence. It opens space for critical dialogue among young audiences, though structural change […]
Gaining traction: Promising shifts in gender norms and intimate partner violence in the context of a community-based HIV prevention trial in South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that community mobilization efforts that target harmful gender norms—such as male dominance, IPV tolerance, and communication taboos—can lead to measurable shifts in attitudes, behaviors, and relationship dynamics. Norms change was facilitated by improved access to gender-equitable messages through media, and greater openness in couple communication, helping to reshape […]
Exploring young women’s reproductive decision-making, agency and social norms in South African informal settlements
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that focusing solely on individual agency overlooks the powerful role of social norms — particularly the expectation that young women should prove their fertility early. Programs aiming to reduce early, unplanned pregnancies must challenge these community and family pressures, while also supporting women’s increasing desire for reproductive control […]
Effectiveness of a multi-level intervention to reduce men’s perpetration of intimate partner violence: a cluster randomized controlled trial
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores the complexity of transforming deeply entrenched social norms and masculinities that sustain intimate partner violence in informal peri-urban contexts. While the Sonke CHANGE intervention aimed to shift gender norms through community mobilization and reflective dialogue, it was more effective among men with less violent behavior at baseline. The […]
“I got courage from knowing that even a daughter-in-law can earn her living”: Mixed methods evaluation of a family-centred intervention to prevent violence against women and girls in Nepal.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study underscores that transforming gender norms within families—by working with both women and men, as well as older and younger generations—can create meaningful change, reducing violence and enhancing women’s empowerment. Objectives: This study evaluates a family-centered intervention in Nepal designed to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG) by addressing […]
Changes in Family-Level Attitudes and Norms and Association with Secondary School Completion and Child Marriage Among Adolescent Girls: Results from an Exploratory Study Nested Within a Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial in India
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Indirect norms—like expectations to protect family honor by limiting girls’ freedom—powerfully shape girls’ futures. Effective interventions must target not just households but also the broader social networks that uphold these practices. Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of the Samata intervention, a three-year multilayered program in northern Karnataka, India, designed to […]
Patriarchy and gender-inequitable attitudes as drivers of intimate partner violence against women in the central region of Ghana.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study shows that IPV in this context is not just individual behavior but part of a broader social system supported by patriarchal norms, rigid gender hierarchies, and notions of male authority. Successful prevention efforts must directly target these social norms, emphasizing community-wide change, the transformation of masculine ideals, and the […]
Adolescent pregnancy and social norms in Zambia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights the contradiction between restrictive norms (expecting abstinence) and permissive practices (pressuring girls into relationships for material needs). It underscores that changing adolescent pregnancy rates requires shifting harmful community-level norms, improving communication about sexuality, and promoting supportive environments where girls can access contraception without stigma. Objectives: This study aimed […]
Narrative Persuasion and Social Norms in Entertainment-Education: Results from a Radio Drama in Mozambique
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around maternal health, sanitation, and reporting sexual abuse in Mozambique remain resistant to change, with community norms often not aligned with the behaviors promoted by the intervention. Although audiences engaged deeply with the radio drama’s characters and stories, indicating strong narrative persuasion, prevailing social norms continued to favor inaction […]