Social norms change at scale: Insights from IMAGE

The Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity (IMAGE) is a structural intervention for HIV specifically designed to explore the interaction between microfinance, gender inequalities, and HIV prevention. It is based on the premise that economic and gender inequalities create an environment that increases the risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV among women and that IPV is an independent risk factor for HIV infection. Therefore, IMAGE seeks to create an enabling environment for behaviour change that engages poverty and gender-based inequalities as key structural factors driving the HIV epidemic. 

This case study is part of a series of five published by Raising Voices. The collection is designed for funders, practitioners, and activists. It seeks to identify key elements for success, highlight challenges, and provide recommendations for adapting and scaling the methodologies of The Community for Understanding Scale Up (CUSP) members and, more broadly, social norms change interventions. The case studies draw on over 120 years of combined experience and practice-based learning among five CUSP programs.