Cultural Norms and Sexual and

Reproductive Health

NIAMH BARRY
NIAMH.BARRY85@GMAIL.COM
MAY 2008
 What are Cultural Norms

Individual to each country, society and community

Rooted in history, politics, religion, music,
language and geography of a group BUT are still
dynamic
A set of established rules evolved over time that
govern the moral conduct, education and defining
attitudes of a group of people.
They govern actions and behaviours from
childhood to old age
 Examples of Cultural Norms

 Monogamy/Polygamy
 Male and Female circumcision
 Characteristics of masculinity and femininity
 Bride price
 Early marriages
 Varying marriage ceremonies
 Emphasis on virginity
 Rituals of celebration
 Taboos on open discussions of certain topics
 Can be both harmless and harmful depending on the
‘outsider view’
 When Cultural Norms Impact SRH

Many cultural norms governing sexual and moral

conduct can affect peoples SRH especially in the
era of HIV
 When Cultural Norms Impact SRH

Question to the group:

How have the following affected peoples SRH in the
Zambian context or elsewhere?

Early marriages
Discourses of masculinity and femininity
Bride price
Male and female circumcision
Rules surrounding the discussion of SRH
Attitudes to method of contraceptive use
Traditional medicine
Dry sex
Negative Impact of Cultural Norms on SRH
‘How do you abstain from what is part of you?...we can’t
stop having children. With or without AIDS the pressure
from husband and extended families is beyond the
women’s control in this culture’, (Ntseane and Preece,
2005:9).

‘Just look at the colour of the condom, it shows it is from the

west: it is another tactic of wiping Africans from the face
of the earth. Unless you show me a factory of condoms in
Botswana I can’t believe it does not have AIDS’ (Ntseane
and Preece, 2005:10).
Strategies when Dealing with Cultural Norms & SRH
 Work with or work against cultural norms – What is feasible?
 Working with: Polygamy can either be a hidden or acceptable
cultural norm. Polygamy can increase all partners risk to HIV
and STDs without condom use. A strategy that works within
this norm would be to promote condom use but also to limit
the number of partners and encourage each person to stay
within the same multiple relationship rather than having
different partners every week.
 Working against: Dry sex has no social benefits for those
involved but is simply a male preference yet it increases
women's and men's vulnerability to HIV & STDs. Education
on the negative impact of dry sex within the male and female
community, in combination with advocacy and strong political
will could work against this practice.

Continued….
The ‘life-cycle’ approach when dealing with
cultural norms and practices
This means educating all age ranges from youths to
elderly, E.g. sensitisation on violence against
women, must be conducted on all age ranges. If
you only educate a child from 10-16 on GBV and
they see the older men in the community practicing
GBV they will be less likely to heed the education.
Need consensus of leaders/respected people in a
community on objectives of program-issue of been
viewed as an outsider enforcing foreign ideas

Continued….
Harmful cultural norms will not change
immediately. Problems arise when project views as
a success then months later the practice remerges-
M&E vital
Cultural sensitivity is vital in any program dealing
with SRH