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Sustainable Development Goal 5 challenges governments to address child marriage, which may inhibit girls from developing an agentic self. This paper assesses the direct influence of community gender norms on adolescent agency, and the normative contexts in which gender gaps in adolescent agency are larger or smaller in Nepal. Using baseline data for adolescent girls, adolescent boys, and adults in 54 clusters participating in the CARE Tipping Point Trial, multilevel analysis tested whether: adolescent boys had higher agency than girls; and community gender norms among adults partly accounted for or modified gender gaps in adolescent agency. Gender gaps in agency disfavoring girls were common. Community gender norms were more positively associated with intrinsic agency among girls than boys, and more negatively associated with instrumental and collective agency among girls than boys. Enhancing girls' agency while promoting gender-equitable community norms may empower girls' transition to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, Nepal is not on track to meet Sustainable Development Goal 5.3 – the elimination of harmful practices, including child, early and forced marriage by the year 2030. Evidence on what works to prevent child, early and forced marriage often is inattentive to contextual factors that influence intervention effectiveness. This study presents qualitative results of a mixed-methods evaluation of CARE's Tipping Point Program to prevent child, early and forced marriage in Nepal, interrogating the perceived benefits of the programme and elucidating contextual features that enhance or detract from programme benefit. Baseline data included interviews with adolescent girls (N = 20), boys (N = 10), adult community leaders (N = 8) and focus group discussions (FGDs) with girls (N = 8 groups; 48 individuals), boys (N = 8 groups; 47 individuals) and parents (N = 16 groups; 95 individuals). Using thematic analysis and structured comparisons by time, gender, district, caste/community, stakeholder type and arm, we found diverse programme participation, but widespread improvements in knowledge across several domains, with behavioural changes concentrated among participants with stronger participation and pre-programme characteristics suggestive of low risk of child marriage. Findings underscore the need to address structural barriers to prevent child marriage and the challenges of attributing programme benefit amidst a dynamic social context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]