Who’s that girl? A qualitative analysis of adolescent girls’ views on factors associated with teenage pregnancies in Bolgatanga, Ghana.
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights how social norms around adolescent sexuality and contraception—especially beliefs that family planning is only for married women and that boys should be responsible for condom procurement—shape young women’s sexual decision-making. While many girls exhibited strong agency, clear future goals, and negotiation skills around condom use, normative stigma surrounding […]
You are looked upon as a luxury tool: Young Tanzanian women’s perception of community norms supporting partner violence during transactional sex
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The article highlights that harmful gender norms — including the normalization of male control and violence, the double standards around women’s sexuality, and the stigma against transactional sex — underpin women’s vulnerability in kudanga relationships. Addressing these social norms through community-wide engagement, shifting gender power dynamics, and reducing stigma is essential […]
Understanding reference groups for norms and behaviour change: the intersection of relationship dynamics and family planning
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights how reference groups—trusted individuals who influence beliefs and behaviors—shape social and gender norms related to family planning and relationship dynamics in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Godparents, pastors, friends, and health workers each influence norms in different ways and with varying effectiveness across topics. Some actors provide […]
Use of digital media for family planning information by women and their social networks in Kenya: A qualitative study in peri-urban Nairobi
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that digital media can offer safer, more discreet avenues for young women in Kenya to access and share family planning (FP) information, especially where in-person discussions are constrained by stigma and gender norms. Social norms around gender significantly influence comfort levels in discussing FP online, with women preferring […]
Understanding abortion-related stigma and incidence of unsafe abortion: experiences from community members in Machakos and Trans Nzoia counties Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Abortion-related stigma in Kenya is strongly reinforced by social norms that define women’s morality and social value through motherhood and sexual respectability. Women who seek abortion—especially young, unmarried women—are often labeled as immoral, “killers,” or bad influences, and are socially ostracized. This stigma is pervasive in both high- and low-incidence regions […]
Understanding how social norms influence access to and utilization of adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in Northern Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms in Northern Nigeria strongly enforce early marriage, high fertility expectations, and male authority over reproductive decisions, significantly limiting adolescents’ access to and utilization of modern contraceptive services. Norms around chastity, family honor, and fertility not only stigmatize unmarried adolescents who seek contraception but also render married adolescents—especially girls—powerless to […]
Understanding motives for intravaginal practices amongst Tanzanian and Ugandan women at high risk of HIV infection: The embodiment of social and cultural norms and well-being
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study explores how intravaginal cleansing and insertion practices among women in Tanzania and Uganda are influenced by social and cultural norms related to gender, sexuality, and morality. While the study does not use formal social norms measurement tools, it explicitly investigates how these practices are shaped by community expectations, traditional […]
Tracing change in female genital mutilation/cutting through social networks: An intersectional analysis of the influence of gender, generation, status, and structural inequality
Key Social Norms Take-aways: In Senegal, social norms surrounding FGM/C are deeply embedded in gendered ideas of morality, femininity, and social inclusion. The study shows that these norms are not monolithic but vary significantly by region, ethnicity, and social status. In South Senegal, norms linking FGM/C to marriageability, virtue, and social support remain strongly upheld, […]
Tracing change in female genital mutilation/cutting: Shifting norms and practices among communities in Narok and Kisii counties, Kenya
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Shifting social norms—particularly around marriageability, sexual morality, and ethnic identity—are central to understanding both persistence and change in female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Kenya’s Narok and Kisii counties. While health risk messaging has increased public awareness, it has not substantially changed norms rooted in tradition, identity, and fear of social sanctions. […]
The role of gender inequities in women’s access to reproductive health services: A population-level study of Simiyu Region, Tanzania
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores how entrenched gender norms in the Simiyu region of Tanzania severely restrict women’s and girls’ access to reproductive health services. Norms that prioritize male authority, devalue women’s autonomy, and equate female worth with childbirth reinforce systemic barriers to healthcare. Women face stigma and even violence for using family […]