The role of partners, parents and friends in shaping young women’s reproductive choices in Peri-urban Nairobi: a qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms related to female sexuality, discretion, and male authority continue to heavily influence whether and how young women use FP. Secrecy is often a survival strategy to avoid stigma or conflict. Interventions must go beyond providing FP information and instead engage entire social networks—particularly mothers, partners, and healthcare workers—to shift […]
The Intersection of Gender-Based Violence and Risky Sexual Behaviour among University Students in Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights how entrenched traditional gender norms at Ethiopian universities contribute to both gender-based violence (GBV) and risky sexual behaviors. Norms that associate women’s worth with submissiveness, modesty, and virginity—and that blame women for violence if they deviate from these ideals—create a campus climate where GBV is normalized and victims […]
Stigma and Agency: Exploring Young Kenyan Women’s Experiences with Abortion Stigma and Individual Agency
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms associating abortion with immorality and female promiscuity continue to impose strong stigma on young women. However, rather than being solely constrained by these norms, many women actively resist them, demonstrating self-reliance and confidence. Programs aiming to reduce stigma must focus not only on shifting harmful norms but also on […]
Supporting contraceptive choice in self-care: qualitative exploration of beliefs and attitudes towards emergency contraceptive pills and on-demand use in Accra, Ghana and Lusaka, Zambia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals that anticipated stigma—particularly among young women—linked to emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) use in Accra, Ghana and Lusaka, Zambia is rooted in social norms that conflate ECP use with promiscuity, irresponsibility, or even abortion. While most users did not actually experience stigma when accessing ECPs, fears of judgment from […]
The ‘Demand Side’ of Child Marriage: Expanding Gender Norms to Marriage Drivers Facing Boys and Men in South Sudan
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Child marriage persists due to dual gender norms—those controlling girls’ sexuality and those pressuring boys to marry to be seen as men. Addressing both is key to reducing the practice. Objectives: This study examines the underexplored ‘demand side’ of child marriage in South Sudan, focusing on how gender norms and economic […]
Socio-cultural context of adolescent sexuality and youth-friendly service intervention in West Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia: A qualitative study
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that adolescent SRH interventions must go beyond providing services — they need to address and engage with the broader cultural and religious norms that shape sexual behavior and service use. Without challenging the community’s moral and social expectations, YFS programs are unlikely to meaningfully change adolescent SRH outcomes. […]
Socio-cultural factors perceived to influence sexual behaviours of adolescents in Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals that prevailing social and cultural norms in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia—especially those stigmatizing adolescent sexuality and condom use—contribute significantly to adolescents’ engagement in risky sexual behavior. Despite general cultural and religious discouragement of premarital sex, community-level norms perpetuate shame, fear, and judgment around seeking sexual and reproductive health (SRH) […]
Sociocultural factors perpetuating the practices of early marriage and childbirth in Sylhet District, Bangladesh
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals that in Sylhet District, Bangladesh, deeply rooted social norms around fertility and gender roles strongly pressure newly married adolescents to have children immediately after marriage. The social expectation that childbearing affirms a woman’s value and ensures her acceptance into her husband’s family discourages contraceptive use and delays in […]
South African women’s conceptualisations of and responses to sexual coercion in relation to hegemonic masculinities.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study reveals how hegemonic masculinities—norms that valorize male dominance, control, and sexual entitlement—shape South African women’s perceptions of and responses to sexual coercion. These norms contribute to the normalization of coercion, especially in intimate relationships, and often lead women to internalize blame and guilt. However, women’s agency is shown to […]
‘Spoiled’ girls: Understanding social influences on adolescent contraceptive decision-making in Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Adolescent girls in Kenya must navigate overlapping and often contradictory social norms that stigmatize both contraceptive use and adolescent pregnancy. Contraceptive use—particularly hormonal methods—is associated with promiscuity and feared to cause infertility, while pregnancy outside of marriage threatens educational and social standing. These stigmas are compounded by gendered power imbalances and […]