Samenvatting

There are not only biological differences between men and women; there are also differences in social roles for men and women. In the 1970s the term ‘gender’ was introduced in order to make a distinction between the biological sex and the social roles ascribed to the sexes. But what does that term gender actually mean and what does it add to our understanding of social life in general and especially within the field of law enforcement? In the first part of the article a brief historical overview of the introduction of and debate on the gender concept is presented. The second part zooms in on the actual use of gender in (criminological) research on law enforcement.