The Forgotten Gender: SA prepares to address the challenges facing the boy-child

The Forgotten Gender: SA prepares to address the challenges facing the boy-child

By Johnathan Paoli While much attention in South Africa’s education and social development spheres has rightfully focused on empowering the girl child, mounting evidence suggests that boys are quietly slipping through the cracks. A combination of poverty, child labour, school violence and entrenched gender norms are leading to a worrying pattern: boys are disengaging from education at alarming rates, a trend with potentially devastating social a…