over one third of men would never help a woman struggling with a baby buggy on stairs

[marshall]

318. Men may be afraid of being profiled as a "sexual suspect"

That term is used in "The World According to Garp" to describe a person who does not want to be perceived as a threat because of some visible factor. It's why very few me are kindergarten teachers, why teenage boys are rarely baby sitters, and why a stay at home father may be looked at derisively.

A male friend of mine was a first grade teacher back in the 90s. Every other teacher (who were all female) were allowed to assist both boys and girls who needed help in the bathroom, which didn't happen often but did occur from time to time. He alone as singled out and told he was not allowed to be alone with a child of either gender in the bathroom. If any of his students needed assistance he had to call one of his female colleagues and ask her to help.

In the words of John Irving, he was a sexual suspect. The children were being taught that women are safe, men are suspect.

A similar study to this looked at who was more likely to approach a crying child. Women were far more likely than men to offer help to a child in public. Likely that is because they are afraid of being profiled as a sexual suspect.