The compendium draws on a social norms perspective. It uses the social norms definition articulated by the social scientist Cristina Bicchieri and applies the concepts of social expectations, empirical and normative, to determine whether female genital mutilation or any other maladaptive practice is a social norm in a specific context. The compendium also uses and adapts some of the outcomes of the UNICEF-Penn course on Advances on Social Norms, 2010-2016, co-chaired by Cristina Bicchieri and Gerry Mackie at the University of Pennsylvania and some of the outcomes of the UNFPA expert meeting on 'Gender-Biased Harmful Practices: A Long Term Coordinated Strategy To Accelerate Abandonment And Achieve Measurable Results" By 2030, 2016, in Brussels. Case studies have been taken from articles and papers by the social scientists Sajeda Amin, Heeran Chun, Ellen Gruenbaum, Antanas Mockus, Kaivan Munshi, Shereen Usdin, Patricia Rudy and Molly Melching and from the Saleema Campaign in Sudan, the Tostan programme in Senegal, The Soul City IV TV entertainment programme in South Africa, the Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning programme in Bangladesh, the Sex Ratio at Birth Transition in Republic of Korea.