Adolescent Girls’ Early Marriage Intention and its Determinants in Eastern Ethiopia: A Social Norms Perspective
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study confirms that early marriage is upheld by strong injunctive and descriptive norms in Eastern Ethiopia. Community expectations and the perception of social rewards or sanctions for compliance contribute heavily to parental intentions. Effective interventions must directly address these social norms—particularly in rural, less-educated populations—by shifting collective beliefs and expectations, […]
A Qualitative Exploration of Factors Explaining Non-Uptake of Hormonal Contraceptives Among Adolescent Girls in Rural Ghana: The Adolescent Girls’ Perspective.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Prevailing social and gender norms in rural Ghana strongly discourage adolescent girls from using hormonal contraceptives, associating their use with sexual promiscuity and moral failure. These norms—reinforced by families, religious teachings, and the wider community—create an environment of stigma, shame, and fear. Girls internalize these expectations, leading to reluctance in seeking […]
A Qualitative Study of Intimate Partner Violence Among Women in Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals how deeply rooted patriarchal and cultural norms in Nigeria contribute to intimate partner violence (IPV). Women are expected to be submissive, defer to husbands and in-laws, and endure abuse for the sake of family honor and children. These norms discourage help-seeking and normalize suffering. Effective prevention must directly […]
A reconfiguration of the sex trade: How social and structural changes in eastern Zimbabwe left women involved in sex work and transactional sex more vulnerable
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study shows how social norms around sex work in Zimbabwe were reconfigured during a period of economic collapse and heightened HIV awareness. While overt commercial sex became more stigmatized and publicly condemned—framed as a threat to community health and morality—transactional sex became more widespread and less visible, especially among women […]
A Spatial Analysis of the Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting among 0–14-Year-Old Girls in Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study provides robust evidence that social, moral, and religious norms at the community level are powerful drivers of FGM/C among girls aged 0–14 in Kenya. A mother’s circumcision status, support for continuation of the practice, and belief in its religious necessity are closely linked to her daughter’s risk of being […]
A syndemic of inequitable gender norms and intersecting stigmas on condom self-efficacy and practices among displaced youth living in urban slums in Uganda: a community-based cross-sectional study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights how harmful norms and stigma form a “syndemic” that compromises youth sexual health. Norms around gender roles and sexuality foster shame and silence, particularly for girls, and limit their ability to communicate about or use condoms. Effective HIV prevention must include gender-transformative and stigma-reduction approaches that empower youth […]
‘They Say it was Her Fault… This is Not True!’ Using Vignettes With Adolescent Girls to Collectively Address Norms About Sexual Violence.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms in Rwanda around sexual violence assign blame to adolescent girls, discourage reporting, and normalize male entitlement to sex. Girls are burdened with responsibility for preventing violence, while perpetrators often benefit from social protection, particularly within families. Using vignettes allowed girls to critically reflect on and challenge these norms, revealing […]
‘You have a child who will call you “mama”’: Understanding Adolescent Pregnancy in South Sudan
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms in South Sudan deeply value motherhood as a marker of adulthood and worth, shaping girls’ choices and aspirations. Effective interventions must go beyond preventing adolescent pregnancy to challenge the underlying social and gender norms, create supportive environments, and offer alternative pathways for girls to achieve respect, security, and fulfillment […]
“Girls Have More Challenges; They Need to Be Locked Up”: A Qualitative Study of Gender Norms and the Sexuality of Young Adolescents in Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: In Uganda, restrictive gender norms are instilled in children from an early age, deeply shaping adolescent girls’ experiences of sexuality and limiting their agency. Boys are encouraged to express and explore sexuality, while girls are expected to be passive, modest, and solely responsible for preventing sexual activity and its consequences. These […]
“Take this shame away from me!”: A qualitative study of the social norms surrounding abortion experiences among adolescent girls and young women in Benin
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Benin navigate abortion decisions and care in a context of profound normative pressure, shaped by a “triple normative burden”: the stigmatization of premarital pregnancy, lack of access to comprehensive sexuality education, and strong moral and religious condemnation of abortion. These norms are reinforced by […]