The vulnerable boy-child : A qualitative study of the sitution for the rural boys in Kenya

Abstract: This minor field study describes the situation for the boy-child in rural Kenya and thepossible effects that can be seen after years of focus directed mostly on the girl-child,both in school and through non-governmental organizations (NGO). This study is doneby going in to the field of rural Kenya and meeting people who can give their opinion onwhat is going on for the boy-child in Kenya. This is a qualitative study based on semistructuredinterviews with six social workers. The method of using open ended questionswill give a hint of what is going on in the day-to-day life in the social worker´s context.During the analysis of the interviews it became evident that there is a need to payattention to the boy-child. There is also a slight difference in focus depending onwhether the informant is a woman or a man. Furthermore all social workers have spokenabout the risks that the boy-child and young teenaged boys are facing. The social workersin this study express their perception that the boy-child is vulnerable. Three major areascould be recognized: vulnerable by the neglect of professionals, vulnerable by the Africanculture and vulnerable by exposure to hazards. At the end of this study there will be adiscussion around the findings and analysis of the interviews. The discussion will alsobring up the aspects of manhood, masculinity and the importance of language as a way toconstruct perceptions as well as how the general construction of gender can be a part ofwhat makes the boy-child vulnerable.