Missing Dutch Girls

Despite female’s pre-determined biological survival advantage, certain groups of girls experience higher levels of mortality than boys in both past and present societies. Proposed explanations range from (1) biological hypotheses, like girls having less resistance to communicable diseases, to (2) gendered roles, where young females - caring for the sick within households - were more exposed to infections, and (3) gender discrimination, including reduced access to food and medical care. However, these theories lack thorough empirical testing.

This project focuses on patterns and determinants of excess mortality among Dutch girls between 1 and 15 between 1864 and 1930. The project uses individual-level data of the Maastricht Death and Disease Database. These death certificates include not only socio-demographic data, but also the individual cause-of death. Moreover, the records can be linked to the family reconstruction database LINKS-Limburg, which facilitates the examination of the role of the family in mortality risks of girls. These two sources combined will be used to create insights in the profile of girls that were at larger risk of death and to determine what caused their untimely death.