Brief: Community-Based Norms-Shifting Interventions: Definition and Attributes

Social norms play a powerful role in shaping the behavior of young people and can have an enormous impact on their sexual and reproductive health. Even as interest in social norms has surged, there is no consensus about what constitutes a norms-focused approach and how this differs from other types of community-based programs.

This brief aims to address this challenge by outlining the key attributes of a norms-focused approach and offering an operational definition of what constitutes a normative change approach for AYSRH practitioners. It is based on a desk review and analysis of over thirty documents on social norms theory and programming.