Gender norms and modern contraceptive use in urban Nigeria: a multilevel longitudinal study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that gender-equitable norms—particularly attitudes supporting shared household decision-making, joint family planning decisions, and family planning self-efficacy—significantly influence women’s adoption and sustained use of modern contraceptives in urban Nigeria. Importantly, neighborhood-level gender norms also matter: living in a community where gender-equitable attitudes are prevalent increases the likelihood of contraceptive […]
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 […]
Countering Violence Against Women by Encouraging Disclosure: A Mass Media Experiment in Rural Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that social norms surrounding disclosure of violence—specifically the fear of gossip, judgment, or community backlash—can be shifted independently of attitudes about the acceptability of violence itself. When people believe that others in their community will support reporting violence rather than shame survivors, willingness to disclose increases, and actual […]
A qualitative exploration of the salience of MTV-Shuga, an edutainment programme, and adolescents’ engagement with sexual and reproductive health information in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: MTV Shuga Down South demonstrates how mass media can catalyze shifts in social norms related to HIV, gender dynamics, and sexual health by sparking peer dialogue and promoting reflection among young people. The show’s impact hinged on its ability to normalize conversations about taboo topics and present relatable scenarios that challenged […]
“You need to be able to stand up for what is right”: MTV Shuga Naija’s transformative impact on youth attitudes towards sexual violence in Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: MTV Shuga Naija significantly shifted harmful gender and sexual violence-related social norms among Nigerian youth by reducing victim-blaming attitudes and increasing awareness of sexual harassment and violence. The intervention illustrates how entertainment-education, when grounded in theory and embedded in relatable narratives, can disrupt entrenched norms, catalyze attitudinal change, and foster critical […]
Reducing GBV in Zambia: Midline Survey Findings
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Natwampane program demonstrates that well-designed media interventions can positively influence deeply entrenched social norms that condone gender-based violence (GBV). Regular exposure to Natwampane radio content was associated with reduced acceptance of harmful gender norms, increased awareness of legal rights and SGBV services, and more willingness to intervene in or report […]
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 […]
Evaluation of the effect of the Momentum project on family planning outcomes among first-time mothers aged 15–24 years in Kinshasa, DRC
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Momentum intervention successfully shifted social norms related to postpartum family planning (FP) among first-time mothers in Kinshasa. Key social norms outcomes included increased perceived community support and descriptive and injunctive norms supporting contraceptive use. However, normative expectations (beliefs about what others think one ought to do) remained unchanged, suggesting that […]
Effects of the Momentum project on postpartum family planning norms and behaviors among married and unmarried adolescent and young first-time mothers in Kinshasa: A quasi-experimental study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Momentum project revealed that social norms regarding postpartum family planning (PPFP) remain especially restrictive for never-married adolescent mothers. While the intervention improved contraceptive behaviors across groups, it had limited influence on shifting normative expectations, descriptive norms, and personal agency—particularly among 15–19-year-olds who were never married. These findings underscore how age […]
Association of Male Partners’ Gender-Equitable Attitudes and Behaviors with Young Mothers’ Postpartum Family Planning and Maternal Health Outcomes in Kinshasa, DRC
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Community and household norms around male involvement, decision-making, and caregiving shape reproductive and maternal health outcomes. Programs should challenge norms that restrict men’s roles to authority figures and promote shared caregiving and decision-making to support healthier, more equitable outcomes for young families. Objectives: This study explored how male partners’ gender-equitable attitudes […]