Effectiveness of Potential Interventions to Change Gendered Social Norms on Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence in Uganda: a Causal Inference Approach.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Gendered social norms that justify wife-beating are deeply ingrained and significantly influence the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Uganda. The study shows that even if entire communities reject wife-beating, the potential reduction in IPV incidence is modest—around 10 percentage points. This underscores that while transforming social norms is necessary, […]
Effects of Gender Role Beliefs on Social Connectivity and Marital Safety: Findings From a Cross-Sectional Study Among Married Adolescent Girls in India.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Progressive gender role beliefs—supporting female marital choice, shared household decision-making, male involvement in childcare, and rejecting the acceptability of marital violence—are associated with improved social and digital connectivity, greater freedom of movement, and enhanced safety from marital violence among married adolescent girls. This underscores the importance of transforming restrictive gender norms […]
Do Sexual Partners Talk to Each Other About HIV? Exploring Factors Associated with HIV-Related Partner Communication Among Men and Women in Tanzania.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study illustrates how community-level gender norms and social engagement influence communication between sexual partners about HIV risk in Tanzania. For both men and women, social engagement was positively associated with communication, while gender-equitable attitudes were particularly predictive of communication for men. Among women, discriminatory attitudes toward people living with HIV […]
Does girls’ empowerment predict contraceptive intentions? Evidence from a survey of secondary school girls in Northwest Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study underscores that social norms around fertility, marriage, and gender roles interact with personal empowerment in complex ways. Even when girls hold progressive beliefs, they remain constrained by prevailing community norms and fears—especially about infertility and social judgment. To shift intentions and behaviors, interventions must not only improve individual knowledge […]
Drivers of child marriage in specific settings of Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia – findings from the Yes I Do! baseline study.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Child marriage across six countries is not just a standalone practice but a reflection of deeper social norms, especially around girls’ sexuality, family honour, and gender roles. In many cases, marriage is seen as a necessary response to prevent or cover up premarital sex or pregnancy. These norms are reinforced by […]
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 […]
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 […]
Correlates of condom use and condom-use motivation among young South Africans
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around gender roles, trust in relationships, and HIV-related beliefs significantly influence condom use motivation among adolescents in South Africa. The study highlights how condom use is not just a health behavior but a socially situated act, interpreted through norms about fidelity, respect, and masculinity. Beliefs that condom use implies […]
Couples’ Economic Equilibrium, Gender Norms and Intimate Partner Violence in Kirumba, Tanzania
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals how entrenched gender norms—particularly around male breadwinning and female domesticity—exacerbate intimate partner violence (IPV) when economic shifts disrupt traditional roles. In Kirumba, Tanzania, men’s inability to fulfill the breadwinner norm due to declining economic opportunities and women’s entry into paid labor triggered feelings of emasculation and social ridicule. […]
Cross-national and multilevel correlates of partner violence: an analysis of data from population-based surveys
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Norms justifying wife beating and endorsing male authority over women’s behavior are strongly associated with higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). These gender norms not only influence national IPV prevalence but also modify how individual-level factors like education and employment affect women’s risk, highlighting the importance of transforming harmful norms […]