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Luo orphaned children derive their conceptualization of home from historical ideologies of patrilineal kinship and the local discourses of belonging situated within properly constituted marriage. Contrary to older literature that presents home as a domestic spatial arrangement, orphans understand home as a relational pathway that safeguards growth. We show that orphans use their notion of home to express feelings of vulnerability and apply their agency against adult-initiated fosterage practices. The article contributes to an enhanced understanding of Luo sociality and promotes a dynamic anthropology of relationships and child anthropology by unpacking the facets of childhood vulnerability. Our analysis points to analytic themes of contradictions and paradox in Luo kinship values in relation to child support and ambivalence in how children's agency is exercised in fosterage arrangements. Keywords: childhood vulnerability, fosterage practices, morality and kinship values, notions of home, orphans, Western Kenya, Children learn about and internalize meanings of key cultural concepts such as home in their daily interactions and conversations with adults as well as in the playing fields away from [...]

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a global, social, and health challenge. Existing literature on post-sexual assault care has focused largely on health providers' skills and capacity to offer quality clinical, medicolegal, and psychosocial care. Services other than medical and psychosocial care provided to survivors of CSA remain poorly studied, particularly in the global south. The study aimed to explore challenges facing service providers supporting children who have experienced sexual abuse and make suitable recommendations. We triangulated different qualitative methods: in-depth interviews with 61 key informants, three focus group discussions with community leaders, and unstructured observations for data collection. Findings indicate that service providers supporting children who had experienced sexual abuse play a vital role in ensuring that survivors receive clinical and medicolegal care, psychosocial support, have access to justice, and are protected from further victimization. However, these service providers face several challenges, including poor infrastructure, the lack of effective coordination and linkage among the service providers in the continuum of care, corruption among officials, and harmful patriarchal norms that hinder reporting of abuse. To effectively support and care for survivors, we recommend government commitment to, and investments in, safe spaces, supervision, and professional development of providers. Working with community leaders and gatekeepers of all genders is critical to address harmful practices that perpetuate CSA and make it difficult to care for and obtain justice for CSA survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]