PurposeChild marriages and unions can infringe upon adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH). Interventions increasingly promote strategies to transform social norms or foster the agency of adolescent girls. Recent empirical studies call for further understanding of how social norms and agency interact in ways that influence these practices, especially in contexts where girls' agency is central.MethodsA secondary cross-case analysis of three qualitative studies (in Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras) was conducted to inform the investigation of how norms and agency may relate in sustaining or mitigating child marriage.ResultsSocial norms dictating how girls/young women and how men should act indirectly led to child marriages and unions. The data showed that (1) social norms regulated girls' acceptable actions and contributed to their exercise of “oppositional” agency; (2) social norms promoted girls' “accommodating” agency; and (3) girls exercised “transformative” agency to resist harmful social norms.ConclusionsResearch should advance frameworks to conceptualize how social norms interact with agency in nuanced and context-specific ways. Practitioners should encourage equitable decision-making; offer confidential, adolescent-friendly AYSRH services; and address the social norms of parents, men and boys, and community members.

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Design and layout:Promundo Founded in Brazil in 1997, Promundo works to promote gender equality and create a world free from violence by engaging men and boys in partnership with women and girls. Promundo is a global consortium with members in the United States, Brazil, Portugal, and Democratic Republic of the Congo that collaborate to achieve this mission by conducting cutting-edge research that builds the knowledge base on masculinities and gender equality; developing, evaluating, and scaling up high-impact gender-transformative interventions and programs; and carrying out national and international campaigns and advocacy initiatives to prevent violence and promote gender justice. IDB -Inter-American Development BankThe Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance, and training to public-and private-sector clients throughout the region. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC-IGO license. Instituto Promundo

Considerable evidence shows that adolescent intimate relationships influence the course of adult relationships, that is, whether relationship experiences are characterized by abuse or violence, or healthy, equitable dynamics. Controlling behaviors (CBs)—a phenomenon related to intimate partner violence (IPV)—are pervasive in adolescent intimate relationships, yet there is a lack of consensus on how to conceptualize them and subsequently, limited research which explores the role of CBs, including their role as warning signs for other forms of harm and abuse. As such, there are gaps in integrating CBs in policy and program interventions that could prevent IPV from the earliest stages. This article presents findings from in-depth qualitative research on adolescent relationship violence conducted in under studied settings of Brazil and Honduras. Adolescents described using or experiencing CBs in at least one form in 147 interviews with girls/young women and boys/young men aged 14–24 in rural and urban sites. Drawing from these empirical findings and conceptual and theoretical aspects from the literature, this article analyzes CBs in adolescent relationships and how they relate to IPV. By doing so, it seeks to offer a conceptual framework on CBs that could better inform policies and programs by being reflective of adolescent experiences, and ultimately more nuanced in promoting healthy adolescent relationships.

Com base na literatura sobre o tema e em uma pesquisa realizada pelo Instituto Promundo3 em dois estados brasileiros, este artigo busca discutir a relação entre a vivência da sexualidade das meninas e o casamento na infância e adolescência. A pesquisa mostrou que o controle da sexualidade das meninas é influenciado por vários fatores: desde a sociedade (por exemplo: percepções de moradores das mesmas comunidades dos casais entrevistados, e relatos sobre a influência da mídia e a religião), pares, parentes e maridos. O casamento surgiu no discurso dos entrevistados como “solução” para evitar o que esses atores consideram “riscos” nas vidas das meninas, associados à uma vida sexual mais livre. A decisão pelo casamento, assim, está muitas vezes baseada no controle da sexualidade. Tem implicações diretas nos direitos sexuais e reprodutivos das meninas, e promovem as relações desiguais de gênero.