Social norms are unwritten “rules” governing behavior that are shared by members of a group or society. They are the informal, and often unspoken, rules by which most people live. Unlike attitudes or beliefs, which are individual, social norms reflect shared beliefs about a behavior.
Social norms matter. They not only uphold behaviors, but also reinforce social inequalities. They are specific to a setting and context and are often enforced by people who benefit from them in some way.
Studies have shown promise for shifting norms by working with people during transitional moments in their lives, such as during early adolescence, when newly married, or when they become parents. Through the USAID-funded Passages project, the Masculinité, Famille, et Foi project in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) worked with faith communities to enable a social environment for voluntary family planning use by young couples at these important transition points in their lives. Masculinité, Famille, et Foi was a gender-transformative program adapted from the pilot program “Transforming Masculinities,” led by Tearfund and Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) and implemented by the Église de Christ au Congo.
Shifting Norms around Voluntary Family Planning with Young Couples
At the outset of this project, in 2016, we sought to identify the people whom young couples considered most influential for them in terms of reproductive health and intimate partner violence. Our researchers did this by conducting a formative assessment using the Social Norms Exploration Tool. This assessment identified faith leaders and members of faith communities as being very influential in shaping young couples’ social norms and behaviors. Knowing these key groups helped us to design Masculinité, Famille, et Foi’s programming to shift social norms.
With regard to voluntary family planning—our focus here—a key social norm identified in the formative assessment was that couples felt that their communities were not accepting of women’s use of voluntary family planning unless they already had many children. Other norms concerned how decisions were made related to the use of voluntary family planning; we found that men, who were considered the heads of households, had the final say. These social norms were important drivers of behaviors, and they had a strong effect on women’s lives.
Masculinité, Famille, et Foi worked with young couples ages 18–35 to identify, create, and embrace new, more egalitarian gender norms. Our hope was that this would increase shared decision-making regarding voluntary family planning within these young couples, increase their voluntary use of modern family planning methods, and reduce intimate partner violence (not described here).
The Transformation Process
Our program looked at the desired shift in social norms from many angles within the context of faith communities. From January 2017 to December 2018, newly married couples and first-time parents in Kinshasa participated in the 18-month program. As part of program activities, the young couples engaged in trainings, community dialogues, health talks, and diffusion activities such as community celebrations and sharing stories of change. On the agenda were discussions to help participants reflect on the importance of voluntary family planning, as well as the role of men in household and health activities intended to benefit the family. Pre-trained, well-respected “gender champions” and faith leaders from within the congregations mentored couples throughout the program period. Links were also made to local health care centers through health talks led by community health workers and the distribution of referral cards. Another nine congregations were selected as a comparison group and received only the health service referrals, without the activities to shift norms.