Session 8: Assessing Changes in Social Norms Girls Not Brides Workshop on the Theory of Change and Measuring Impact

Why social norms? Growing focus on normative change “Notes from the field” CARE’s TESFA project Endayehu was married against her will at age 12. Despite a rocky beginning to her marriage, she now has four daughters and seriously considered getting them married as children to “maintain a good image” for her family. Marrying daughters young is “simply how a respectable family behaves.”

Why social norms? Social norms are embedded in GNB’s TOC Families and communities prefer not to marry girls as children. Families, communities and young people value alternative options to child marriage. Families engage less in exchange of dowry and bride price.

How to measure social norms? Brainstorming What measures do you use? What challenges have you encountered? Any feedback on the norms indicators?

How to measure social norms? Brainstorming What measures do you use? What challenges have you encountered? Any feedback on the norms indicators? What do we mean by “social norms”? Some helpful definitions

What do we mean by “social norms”? Prescriptive norms What we think most people think should be done.

What do we mean by “social norms”? Descriptive norms What we think most people are actually doing.

What do we mean by “social norms”? Personal norms What we think we should do or should be done.

Why are these definitions helpful? Can help us figure out how to measure normative change Helps us know what we’re looking for – what kinds of changes represent normative change Clarifies how norms might influence behavior

“Notes from the field” CARE’s TESFA project Endayehu was married against her will at age 12. Despite a rocky beginning to her marriage, she now has four daughters and seriously considered getting them married as children to “maintain a good image” for her family. Marrying daughters young is “simply how a respectable family behaves.” Why are these definitions helpful? The “image” that society expects of us: perceived prescriptive and descriptive norms

A few examples of indicators Prescriptive norms Percentage of individuals who think that people in their community disapprove of child marriage.

A few examples of indicators Descriptive norms Percentage of individuals who think that child marriage is uncommon in their community.

A few examples of indicators Personal norms Percentage of individuals in the target population who support ending child marriage.

Brainstorming Which types of norms do you focus on? Are these definitions helpful? Are the indicators meaningful and measurable? What challenges do you see in measuring normative change? How do you measure normative change? Beyond surveys – any suggestions for other ways to capture normative change?