Social Norms and Security and Justice Services for Gender-based Violence in Nepal: Programmatic Implications from a Baseline Mixed-Methods Assessment
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that deeply rooted patriarchal social norms—centered around family honor, obedience to elders, and the sanctity of marriage—significantly deter help-seeking for gender-based violence (GBV) in Nepal. Despite increased awareness and formal justice mechanisms, women often face strong sanctions for reporting violence, including stigma, community ostracism, and familial rejection. These […]
Gender Norms and Structural Barriers to Use of HIV Prevention in Unmarried and Married Young Women in Manicaland, Zimbabwe: An HIV Prevention Cascade Analysis
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that negative gender norms significantly constrain adolescent girls and young women’s (AGYW) motivation and capacity to use condoms for HIV prevention in Zimbabwe, particularly among married AGYW. While traditional norms around premarital sex and condom use are weakening for unmarried AGYW, married AGYW face deeply entrenched expectations that […]
Exploring perceptions of gender roles amongst sexually active adolescents in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights that adolescent SRH vulnerabilities are deeply embedded in gendered social norms that dictate how young people see themselves and their roles. Effective interventions need to actively question and reshape these norms, engaging not only adolescents but also families and communities, to create supportive environments where young people can […]
Drivers of child marriages for girls: A prospective study in a low-income African set.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This research underscores that interventions solely focused on boosting girls’ agency or spreading legal awareness are unlikely to substantially reduce child marriage rates. Instead, changing community-level social norms — especially caregivers’ and community leaders’ attitudes toward the acceptability of early marriage — and expanding girls’ real-life opportunities, particularly in education, are […]
Creating allies: qualitative exploration of young women’s preferences for PrEP methods and parents’ role in PrEP uptake and user support in urban and rural Zambia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms surrounding premarital sex significantly limit open communication between adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and their parents about HIV prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). These norms hinder AGYW’s ability to disclose PrEP use and prevent parents from engaging meaningfully in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) discussions. However, both AGYW […]
Barriers to contraceptive use in humanitarian settings: Experiences of South Sudanese refugee women living in Adjumani district, Uganda; an exploratory qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals how deeply rooted patriarchal and cultural norms among South Sudanese refugee communities in Uganda severely restrict women’s and girls’ contraceptive autonomy. Social norms idealize large families, associate contraception with promiscuity, and reinforce male dominance in reproductive decision-making. Fear of community backlash, intimate partner violence, and the loss of […]
Age-disparate and intergenerational sex partnerships and HIV: the role of gender norms among adolescent girls and young women in Malawi.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Inequitable gender norms—such as male control over women’s healthcare decisions, tolerance of violence, and stigmatization of sexually active women—greatly magnify HIV risks for AGYW in age-mixing relationships. Programs must challenge these harmful norms while promoting girls’ autonomy, education, and economic opportunities to effectively reduce HIV vulnerability. Objectives: This study examined how […]
Access to adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in Accra, Ghana: An exploratory qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: In Accra, Ghana, gendered and cultural norms deeply influence adolescents’ access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Social expectations stigmatize sexuality, especially for girls, who are often judged harshly for seeking contraception or information. Boys face pressure to perform masculinity through sexual activity. These norms contribute to shame, misinformation, and […]
“It’s a 50/50 Thing You Know”: Exploring the Multileveled Intersections of Gender and Power Within the Relationships of Young South African Men and Women.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The key social norms insight is that HIV prevention efforts like PrEP cannot succeed through individual targeting alone; they must address the relational context, including norms around trust, fidelity, and male control over sexual health. Transforming these norms is crucial to enable young women to exercise agency in HIV prevention and […]