The Role of Gender Norms in Shaping Adolescent Girls’ and Young Women’s Experiences of Pregnancy and Abortion in Mozambique

Abstract

Adolescents and young women in Mozambique experience high levels of unintended pregnancies, with induced abortion being a common outcome. Stigma and gender norms are likely to negatively impact experiences of pregnancy and abortion, and hamper access to information and services. We assessed knowledge, attitudes, practices, and experiences around pregnancy and abortion in six communities in Nampula and Zambézia provinces. We conducted 19 triad interviews with young women and girls, 19 focus group discussions with male and female adult community members, and 15 in-depth interviews with young women with abortion experience. Participants described how gender values, norms, and practices affect girls’ risk of unintended pregnancy and their experiences of pregnancy and abortion. The drivers of adolescent pregnancy included transactional sex and gender-based violence, including early marriage, and gender roles and expectations that lead parents and others to oppose contraception. Stigma around abortion, early or unintended pregnancy, and adolescent sexuality is fueled by gender norms and contributes to girls seeking unsafe abortions. Pregnancy and abortion decision making often involves male partners and family members. In conclusion, gender norms strongly influence the occurrence and outcome of unintended pregnancies and abortion in Mozambique. While abortion legislation was recently liberalized, gender values, norms, and practices inhibit young women’s and girls’ access to services and need to be addressed in policy and programming.