
Sexual and reproductive health
Gender norms play a highly significant role in influencing sexual and reproductive health (SRH). They influence expected behaviour related to relationship formation and sexual activity. They also influence social expectations about whether and when young people should start to engage in sexual activity, and the nature of that activity.
Gendered social norms affect decision-making about family planning, desired family size, child spacing and abortion. They also affect whether women and girls access SRH services and can influence the quality of care different groups receive. Gender norms that expect greater passivity on the part of women and girls can increase their vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections and to gender-based violence in heterosexual relationships. Prevailing norms of femininity and masculinity can also affect the health and wellbeing of sexual and gender minorities.
A growing number of initiatives are attempting to shift discriminatory and harmful gender norms around SRH issues. The resources on this page highlight both the ways that gender norms affect SRH and evidence of approaches that have – and have not – worked well in changing these norms.
Featured SRH research from ALIGN
Biblio/Lit. review
13 May 2019

Published by: ALIGN
Biblio/Lit. review
16 November 2018

Published by: ALIGN
Diagram/Infographic
15 November 2018

Published by: ALIGN
Report
31 August 2021

Published by: ALIGN
Report
9 December 2020

Published by: ALIGN
Blog
25 September 2020

Published by: ALIGN, ICRW
Blog
14 June 2019

Published by: ALIGN
Blog
29 May 2019

Published by: ALIGN
Briefing paper
18 March 2019

Published by: ALIGN, Mexfam

ALIGN guide to gender norms and health
Read ALIGN's guide to gender norms and health including more about sexual and reproductive health.
View guideSRH content from the ALIGN community
Report
11 February 2022

Published by: Social Norms Learning Collaborative
Biblio/Lit. review
16 June 2021

Published by: ODI
Toolkit
1 June 2021

Published by: Breakthrough, USAID
Blog
1 August 2017

Published by: Francophone Learning Collaborative
Report
10 May 2021

Published by: Social Norms Learning Collaborative
Report
20 April 2021

Published by: GAGE