AUTHOR=Nnyombi Aloysious , Bukuluki Paul , Besigwa Samuel , Ocaya-Irama Jane , Namara Charity , Cislaghi Beniamino 

TITLE=How social norms contribute to physical violence among ever-partnered women in Uganda: A qualitative study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sociology

VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sociology/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2022.867024

DOI=10.3389/fsoc.2022.867024

ISSN=2297-7775

ABSTRACT=This paper is anchored in the body of literature that studies how social motivations sustain behavior. It seeks to establish how gender norms contribute to physical violence against women and girls. We identify three pathways through which gender norms contribute to physical violence – a) organize physical violence as a domestic and private matter b) organize physical violence as a constituent part of women’s life worlds (normalization of women’s experiences of physical violence) c) define appropriate boundaries within which violence and associated practices are performed. This presents important information for social change interventions that target improvement in women and girls wellbeing. Interventions that deconstruct physical violence as a private matter, that advance the de-normalization of physical violence and that dismantle boundaries within which violence and associate practices are performed can cause tremendous achievements in addressing women and girls wellbeing.