Gender Norms

Dr. Sidney Schuler is presenting the poster "Gender Norms and Family Planning Decision-Making in Tanzania: A Qualitative Study" at the 2010 Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 15-17, in Dallas, Texas.

This study reports on research carried out in Tanzania to examine the role of gender norms in decision making among young married women and men on issues of family planning and contraceptive use. The study found that gender factors such as men’s dominance in decision-making and cultural norms that condone a man beating his wife if she uses contraceptives secretly are barriers to use of modern contraceptives. The research also found that fear of side effects of modern contraceptives was a significant deterrent.

This program guidance brief provides evidence-based recommendations to guide family planning programmers in the design, implementation, and evaluation of family planning programs that have a male gender norms component. The recommendations build on the 2007 WHO report Engaging men and boys in changing gender-based inequity in health: Evidence from programme interventions and draws from discussions at the C-Change Experts' Meeting on Male Involvement and Male Gender Norms, held in Spring 2009 and funded by USAID.