Social Norms and Adolescents' Sexual Health: An Introduction for Practitioners Working in Low and Mid-income African countries

Donors, practitioners and scholars are increasingly interested in harnessing the potential of social norms theory to improve adolescents' sexual and reproductive health outcomes. However, social norms theory is multifaceted, and its application in field interventions is complex. An introduction to social norms that will be beneficial for those who intend to integrate a social norms perspective in their work to improve adolescents' sexual health in Africa is presented. First three main schools of thought on social norms, looking at the theoretical standpoint of each, are discussed. Next, the difference between two important types of social norms (descriptive and injunctive) is explained and then the concept of a -reference group‖ is examined. The difference between social and gender norms are then considered, highlighting how this difference is motivated by existing yet contrasting approaches to norms (in social psychology and gender theory). In the last section, existing evidence on the role that social norms play in influencing adolescents' sexual and reproductive health are reviewed. Conclusions call for further research and action to understand how norms affecting adolescents' sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) can be changed in sub-Saharan Africa

Measuring Gender-related Social Norms

The Gender, Violence, and Health Centre (GVHC) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has launched a learning and reflection group on social norms and gender-based violence (GBV). There is increasing interest among donors and practitioners to harness insights from social norms theory to catalyse change around gender inequity and harmful gender-related practices. Little guidance is available, however, to help practitioners integrate simple norms measures and change strategies within field-based programming. As theory-based insights open promising avenues for achieving change, a gap emerged between theory and its application within development practice. The mission of this group is thus: To translate and adapt insights and methods from social norm theory and research into practical guidance for development practitioners seeking to transform harmful gender-related practices in low and middle-income countries. Participants share and discuss individual solutions to common dilemmas around measurement and practice. Together, we are working on a programme of research and practice to test strategies that can help people negotiate new positive norms, and/or dismantle norms that keep harmful practices in place. Our collective experience will inform the next wave of intervention evaluation and norms measurement. As part of the learning initiative, LSHTM convened an expert group meeting in July 2016 on the measurement of social norms sustaining GBV. The meeting focused on identifying best-practice strategies to diagnose and measure social norms. Participants were drawn from groups that already had data and research experience attempting to capture gender-related norms and practices in the field. The meeting was kept relatively small to ensure productive exchange among the few teams that have experimented with different strategies for collecting quantitative data on norms and gender-based violence

Human Rights and Community-led Development: Lessons from Tostan

How can we best empower people living in the most economically disadvantaged areas of the world to improve their lives in ways that matter to them? This book investigates work of the NGO Tostan as a working model of human development. The study is grounded in the ethnographic study of the actual change that happened in one West African village. The result is a powerful mix of theory and practice that questions existing approaches to development and that speaks to both development scholars and practitioners. Divided into three parts, the book firstly assesses why top-down approaches to education and development are unhelpful and offers a theoretical understanding of what constitutes helpful development. Part two examines Tostan’s community-based participatory approach as an example of a helpful development intervention, and offers qualitative evidence of its effectiveness. Part three builds a model of how community-led development works, why it is helpful, and what practitioners can do to help people at the grassroots level lead their own human development

Technical brief: Measuring social norms

Social norms are unspoken behavioural rules shared by people in a given society or group; they define what is considered ‘normal’ and appropriate behaviour for that group. There is substantial evidence that social norms can influence a variety of health-related behaviours, including those related to HIV. Research on HIV and social norms has mostly focussed on four aspects of the norms/HIV nexus. These are (from the most to the least studied): condom use and sexual risk behaviour, drug injection and needle sharing, willingness to seek HIV testing, access to and response of health services. However, norms can also influence upstream factors that affect individuals’ vulnerability to HIV, including factors such as: women’s ability and willingness to leave abusive relationships, the ability of young people to resist alcohol advertising and promotion the degree to which girls receive parental support to complete secondary school, the impact of stigma on individual’s willingness to disclose their status. This brief offers guidance to researchers who are not experts on social norms but want to capture information on norms as they relate to HIV and other health and development outcomes. Here, members of the STRIVE consortium provide techniques for collecting information on social norms in the context of studies designed to explore the structural drivers of HIV