What has worked in related fields?

Because work to transform norms related to gender violence is relatively new and underdeveloped, we also examined what is known about shifting norms and behaviours in other areas. Evidence from allied fields suggests that it is possible to modestly change norms and behaviours using existing tools and methodologies. For example there is strong evidence from high income countries that social norms marketing campaigns have effectively changed behaviour among young people and adults related to tobacco use, physical activity, breastfeeding and sexual health [65-67].

A recent review of the impact of social norms marketing observes:

The consensus of published reviews is that social marketing campaigns can change health behaviours and behavioural mediators, but the effects are often small (Evans et al. 2007, Evans 2009). Reviewers of social marketing effectiveness point out that while most campaigns achieve only modest effect sizes, small or modest changes can have a substantial effect at a population level (Evans et al. 2007) [68].

A potentially more relevant example of effectively changing norms and behaviour comes from programmes designed to discourage female genital cutting (FGC). Like wife beating, genital cutting is a deeply entrenched behaviour that is perpetuated by strong social norms grounded in culture, religious interpretation and notions of acceptable womanhood.

2.3.1 Abandoning female genital cutting

Despite its ancient roots, genital cutting has significantly declined in key regions in response to thoughtful and sustained programming to discourage the practice [7]. A fascinating report issued by UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Centre in Florence summarises the results of a multiyear research project designed to systematise what has been learned from two decades of effort to discourage the practice in Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Senegal and Sudan. The researchers spent time with different local efforts, studied evaluation data from individual programmes and analyzed data from DHS surveys over time to determine whether norms related to FGC are changing, whether fewer girls are being cut and whether reductions in FGC can be attributed to the interventions. All of the findings suggest substantial reductions in FGC and accompanying shifts in the norms that undergird the practice. In Ethiopia, for example, young mothers are nearly five times less likely to have a daughter cut than older mothers [7].

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Intriguingly, early efforts that focused largely on criminalizing the practice, educating about health risks and introducing “alternative rites of passage” were largely unsuccessful. They merely drove the practice underground, shifted the practice from informal providers to doctors or encouraged earlier cutting. Programmes began to succeed when they started focusing on the social dynamics of abandonment and adopted strategies consistent with social norms theory and local ownership of the change process. Programmes built on the universal concern of all parents for the well-being of one’s children (a moral norm) while recognizing that collective injunctive norms about what makes young girls “pure”, “marriageable” or “socially acceptable” strongly influence what is perceived as in a child’s best interest.

The most successful programmes engaged respected community members, including religious and local leaders, to provide information to help reframe views of the practice. To reduce the social costs of behaviour change (in terms of future prospects for marriage), they encouraged communities and marriage networks to abandon the practice en masse, and supported those families willing to make early public commitments to not cut their daughters. Most importantly, the Innocenti study found that successful programmes cultivated critical reflection and deliberation through linking human rights and social justice principles to local values, using familiar language and images. Box 2.3 summarises briefly the common elements of success.

Interestingly, there is evidence that programmes designed to discourage genital cutting also have had positive impacts on associated behaviours such as child marriage and partner violence. Many of the evaluations of anti-FGC programmes reviewed in the Innocenti report cites these collateral benefits [7, 69]. A quasi-experimental study of the Tostan programme in Senegal, for example,

Box 2.3 Elements of successful programmes that encourage abandoning of harmful practices

 Programmes must encourage community deliberation, collective reflection and changes in social attitudes and norms. Efforts that focus only on “at risk” girls—such as alternative rites of passage or shelters—have had limited impact. The social stigma of being uncut remained, as did the pressure for girls to be cut.

 Either by design or intuition, successful programmes have built on insights from social convention and norm theory.

 Appeals for change must be “value centred”. All successful programmes have

involved some process of consciousness raising and deliberation on values, rights and gender-based discrimination. Successful approaches have built on local traditions, songs and values and have introduced rights-based concepts, without necessarily using human rights language.

 Programmes must address the downside of non-compliance with social norms and find ways, such as collective abandonment pledges, to limit the costs to individual families.

 Successful programmes engage locally respected leaders to challenge associated beliefs that sustain the practice. These interconnected beliefs must be individually and holistically rethought. First the vision of an alternative must be cultivated (girls remain uncut in other communities); next, false beliefs need to be challenged (e.g. Islam requires genital cutting).

 Interventions must build on positive moral values such as “do what’s best for one’s child” or “all girls are born saleema; let her grow saleema.” (Arabic word meaning whole, undamaged, complete).

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conducted by the Population Council in 2004, found that not only did the programme reduce cutting among daughters in the intervention community compared to the comparison community, but women reported a decrease in partner violence over the last 12 months and a significant increase in knowledge of contraceptive methods by both men and women [70]. Research is currently underway to further evaluate the claim that the Tostan approach reduces partner violence.

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Chapter 3: