Some bystanders may avoid performing CPR on women because they fear hurting them, or even being accused of sexual assault, preliminary research suggests.

In two new studies, researchers tried to dig deeper into a puzzling pattern that has been seen in past research: Women are less likely than men to receive bystander CPR if they go into cardiac arrest in a public place.

One study confirmed that real-world phenomenon in a controlled setting: It found that even in "virtual reality" simulations, participants were less likely to perform CPR when the virtual victim was female, versus male.

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