This is not, I guess, really a men's rights issue. In many ways it's a women's rights issue, actually, but it seemed worth mentioning here because it engages exactly the sort of issues which often come up here.

My work occasionally (a few times a year) involves hiring freelance help. The work is reasonably well paid and widely seen as desirable and interesting, and the clients we're working for would look good on anyone's work history. Said help will generally work with me in a small, dark room for hours a day, invariably with nobody else present.

I suspect it'll already be clear what the situation is here. I've got a stand-out candidate for about ten days of upcoming work. Said candidate is well-educated, pleasant, highly qualified, not that experienced but enough, and in general a clear leader in the field of five people I spoke to.

She's also a conspicuously attractive woman in her early twenties. I'm an ugly, unmarried, childless fortysomething man.

I hate the fact that this is even a consideration. I want nothing more than to give this woman a few days' work and do what I can to help advance her career in a difficult market. That's how this industry works; it's how it's worked for decades. I've regularly done similar things for young men, straight out of college. Great! That's how the world works. Our industry is second only to fashion in its mistreatment of new entrants and I have always tried to be a counterexample to that.

There is no indication that this individual is anything other than completely sane and reasonable. What I'm risking, though, is that any accusation - not even necessarily by her, but by anyone she knows, or any organisation which sees itself as having an interest - will end my career, even cost me my freedom.

I can't take that risk. I'm just not going to do it. I'm not going to hire anyone. I'm going to work alone. It's going to be no fun, and we won't be training the next generation, so in about fifteen years, when I'm looking at retiring, there won't be anyone in this industry, but I won't be breaking equality law and I won't be taking insane risks.

Is there anyone on the planet who thinks this is actually a good idea?