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Shifting Norms, Changing Behaviour, Amplifying Voice: What Works? 2018 International Social and Behaviour Change Communication Conference (Summit Report 2018)

December 9, 2018

The 2018 SBCC Summit took place from 16 – 20 April 2018 and was organized to better understand what works in shifting social norms, changing behaviours and in amplifying the voice of those who have most at stake in the success of development efforts. It was designed to wrestle with the profound issues of social justice and agenda setting that affect these decisions and included a wide range of participation from government, regional entities, academics, NGOs, CSOs, global agencies and the private sector working on development and health issues.

This report provides a taste of the 2018 Summit, some highlights of the weeklong event, a few lessons learned and food for thought for a 2020 Summit. More insights can be found in a special issue about the Summit published by The Journal of Development Communication.

Filed Under: Behaviour Change Communication, Publications (published in print and/or online), Social Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC), Social Norms, Social Norms Highlights

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

October 11, 2018

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, attitudes and practices, and under what conditions positive changes may be brought about, particularly around norms and practices related to child marriage and education.

Evidence from this report showed that communications programmes could be an effective way of challenging gender-discriminatory attitudes and practices, reaching a variety of stakeholders with both broad pro-gender equality messages and messages on specific discriminatory norms. While no one approach was found to be more effective than others, programmes with more than one communications component and those integrated with activities other than communications were found to achieve a higher proportion of positive outcomes.

The study has been conducted by ODI in partnership with national research teams in Viet Nam, Nepal, Ethiopia and Uganda, commissioned by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) as part of a flagship programme on Transforming the Lives of Girls and Young Women.

Click here for full study.

Filed Under: Children, Ethiopia, Nepal, Publications (published in print and/or online), Social Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC), Social Norms, Social Norms Analysis, Social Norms Highlights, Uganda Tagged With: Community Dialogue, Girls, Radio

Beyond the theoretical: Visualising social norms theory

August 12, 2018

The following article considers the role pictorial methods can play in supporting a social norms approach. The article is based on C4D Support and the C4D Network’s practical experience gained through a number of social norms focused projects.

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. Knowing what constitutes a social norms approach, as well as how to design or commission one, are important emerging technical skills.

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 it should be a process that any informed group of people can do, whether on a community level or institutional level.

After all analysing ourselves is something very human and very common. It is just common sense, and social norms theory offers a set of analytical concepts, and off the back of this analysis, it suggests some good ideas for helping to make positive change happen.

For social norms approaches to be effective they 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?

One way is to ‘visualise’ social norms approaches, to embed them in story scenarios, and to lessen the centrality of the academic words through more accessible definitions and explanations of the central analytical ideas.

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 we have worked with UNICEF Nigeria through a nationwide capacity development project on social norms approaches to counter violence against children.

This project is special because unlike so many interventions it is not only the experts doing the analysis and then creating campaigns, it is about helping to build the know-how of many different people throughout government and civil society to analyse and create their own social norms interventions as part of a national strategy. People from federal, state and local government, and people from diverse NGOs and small community groups – all with very different contexts, understandings and backgrounds.

Against this background a wordy training about ‘pluralistic ignorance’ and ‘behavioural determinants’ did not seem right so through trial and error we worked to drill down to the core ideas, and then tried to visually play-out these ideas in familiar settings. We know that such pictorial methods are not enough for a thorough technical learning (there needs to be the depth of input through academia), but such methods can be a supplement or an introduction.

By introducing these ideas and skills such visuals can hopefully provide a gateway, breaking down some of the barriers between experts and non-experts when it comes to social norms analysis. They can help people to get the core concepts and consider how to apply these strategies locally themselves, and most of all they highlight how social norms approaches can be usefully applied to advancing social change right where people are – here and now, not just theoretically.

It would be valuable to see how other people have pictured social norms concepts and scenarios; if you have any examples or leads about this please do share via [email protected].

 

Filed Under: Children, NETWORK, Network Showcase, Nigeria, Social Norms Analysis, Social Norms Highlights

Breaking a Culture of Silence: Social norms that perpetuate violence against women and girls in Nigeria (Oxfam Novib Research Report, 2018)

August 9, 2018

“Enough” – a worldwide Oxfam campaign -aims to replace harmful social norms with positive ones that promote gender equality and non-violence. To better understand which social norms perpetuate traditional practices in Nigeria and how they influence behaviour, Oxfam in Nigeria conducted formative research by interviewing 20 men and 20 women and analysing the results in a campaign design workshop with partner organizations and experts working on violence against women and girls. The findings will inform the development of the Enough campaign in Nigeria.

From the research and subsequent analysis in the workshop, four social norms were identified as drivers of the harmful traditional practices FGM/C and early marriage: A respectable woman marries early; A respectable woman is submissive to male authority; A suitable woman is not promiscuous; A woman is worth more as a wife than as a daughter. Women and girls who transgress these norms face four main kinds of sanction: peer pressure, condemnation, exclusion and force. Encouragingly, although the research found that respondents believe others still think it is appropriate to follow traditional practices, many of the respondents’ own individual attitudes have already shifted – a first signifier of social norms change.

Click here for full report.

Filed Under: Behaviour Change Communication, Gender, Gender Based Violence, Nigeria, Publications (published in print and/or online), Social Norms, Social Norms Analysis, Social Norms Highlights Tagged With: FGM/C

Private sector involvement in development: What impact on gender norms? (ALIGN Report, 2018)

May 27, 2018

The private sector is becoming an increasingly important development actor. This ALIGN report, by Rebecca Calder, explores some of the ways in which the private sector is engaging with discriminatory gender norms and their impacts. It examines private sector motivations for engaging with gender norms, efforts to integrate women and girls into supply chains, and their outcomes, and gender lens investing as a means to support norm change activities. It also examines some private sector innovations that are being adopted in social change activity.

Click here for full report.

 

Filed Under: Gender, Publications (published in print and/or online), Social Norms, Social Norms Analysis, Social Norms Highlights Tagged With: social change communication

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