C4D and Social Norms

As social norms theory increasingly becomes the conceptual base for many initiatives, getting to grips with the social norms approach is becoming essential for communication for development (C4D) practitioners. However, it’s also important that the practice of developing and implementing a social norms approach does not stay in the realm of C4D practitioners only. To be really effective social norms approaches should be tools for as many change agents as possible

So how can we ‘popularise’ this theory and process without dumbing it down? How can we advance capacity development in social norms theory in a way that makes it useful for all of us?

Our ‘Beyond the theoretical: Visualising social norms theory’ paper focuses on how, in a small way, we at C4D Support and the C4D Network have been trying to do this through a number of social norms focused projects –  most recently working with UNICEF Nigeria through a nationwide capacity development project on social norms approaches to counter violence against children.

Plus our C4D & Social Norms section offers a range of resources that offer a more in-depth look at how a wide range of local, national and global organisations are using C4D methods to challenge social norms across a range of development themes.

Latest C4D and Social Norms Resources and News

How communications can change social norms around adolescent girls (ODI study, 2016)

A multi-year, multi-country study has been exploring the complex ways in which adolescent girls’ capabilities are shaped and/or constrained by gender-discriminatory social norms, ...
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Engaging men and boys in sanitation and hygiene programmes (IDS Frontiers of CLTS: Innovations and Insights 11, 2018)

This issue of Frontiers of CLTS shares and builds on the learning from a desk study that explores examples of men’s ...
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Solutions brief: entertainment-education to address child marriage (Girls Not Brides, 2017)

Mass media has long been recognised as a way to prompt large-scale behaviour change. But can it change the norms ...
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Can a Radio Series Change Attitudes and Norms on Violence Against Women? (Oxfam Evaluation Case Study, 2016)

According to the World Bank’s 2015 Development Report, edutainment has the potential to achieve large-scale behaviour change, and many other ...
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Using social norms theory for health promotion in low-income countries (Health Promotion International Paper, 2018)

In the last few years, scholars and practitioners working in low- and mid-income countries (LMIC) have increasingly been trying to ...
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Breaking a Culture of Silence: Social norms that perpetuate violence against women and girls in Nigeria (Oxfam Novib Research Report, 2018)

"Enough" - a worldwide Oxfam campaign -aims to replace harmful social norms with positive ones that promote gender equality and ...
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Processing gender: lived experiences of reproducing and transforming gender norms over the life course of young people in Northern Uganda (Culture, Health & Sexuality Journal, 2018)

This article provides a framework to identify the resources, institutions, and processes that shape adolescents’ gendered choices and behaviors. This ...
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Improving maternal and child health through media in South Sudan: final evaluation (BBC Media Action, 2017)

Following decades of civil war, South Sudan still lacks a functioning healthcare system and has some of the worst maternal ...
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Private sector involvement in development: What impact on gender norms? (ALIGN Report, 2018)

The private sector is becoming an increasingly important development actor. This ALIGN report, by Rebecca Calder, explores some of the ...
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Masculine Norms and Violence: Making the Connections (Promundo Report, 2018)

The report finds that male identity and masculine norms are undeniably linked with violence, with men and boys disproportionately likely ...
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Social norms and women’s risk of intimate partner violence in Nepal (Social Science & Medicine 202:162-169, 2017)

Social norms increasingly are the focus of intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention strategies but are among the least examined contextual ...
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The Effectiveness of a Social Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Strategy in Changing Social Attitudes on Equal Rights to Property for Women – The Case of Kosovo (USAID Conference Paper, 2018)

Society in Kosovo is considered patriarchal and patrilineal, where property inheritance is traditionally transferred to men (Joireman, 2015). Even though ...
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