"Boys will be boys" : A discourse analytic study of how the administrative court constructs gender in the care of young persons act

This study examines how gender is discursively constructed in decisions by the administrative court in Stockholm regarding the care of young persons act. Previous studies have shown a great division in how girls and boys in child welfare have been treated in Sweden. The aim of this study is to investigate whether gender is still a factor in judgments from the administrative court, examine how gender is constructed and to what consequences this can lead. The empirical material consists of six judgments from the administrative court. To analyze how gender is constructed a discourse analytic tool is used. One result is, contrary to previous studies, that boys’ sexual behaviour can also be considered a problem. The focus for boys’ sexual behaviour is, however, their actions towards others, while girls’ sexual behaviour is considered a danger towards themselves. The girls are also described in more detail and their anti-social behaviour is constructed as more severe, even though the boys are described to have more far-reaching problems. Boys do not seem to be cared for in time, which is contradictory to the care of young persons act