If a woman hits a man vs a man hits a woman, how do consequences differ?

[Anonymous]

• ALSO - A man hits a woman. What consequences is he likely to suffer?

[Fromdusktilldawn]

the double standards are disgusting, I hate how society is ignorant to abusive women but if a men does something, all hell breaks loose

[888theGreat]

Either way the man gets the crap beat out of him

[Nikki1989]

Violence is unacceptable regardless of gender, but society often reacts differently because of long‑standing cultural assumptions. This disparity comes from the reality that men, on average, have greater physical strength, which can increase the potential for harm.

[Asker]

I guess guns and knives kind of put those cultural assumptions to rest. At least they should have.

[MrChinaski]

It carries a different message if a man hits a woman. Men are bigger. Upper-body strength is typically twice that of a woman. So the messages are:

Woman hits man: I am bad at dealing with anger.

Man hits a woman: I am bad at dealing with anger, and could kill you with my bare hands.

[Asker]

This is the usual sort of response to this question; however, most men do not hit women with all their strength, and most women hit men as hard as they possibly can. I think, to some extent, that obviates the idea that upper body strength is a meaningful variable in this problem.

The other, and possibly more meaningful, issue is that of weapons. Women throw things, destroy property, and generally use anything that's at hand as a weapon. Men rarely use weapons against women, but if either side uses a weapon, the weapon tends to equalize the damage that's done. It doesn't really matter if a woman shoots a man or a man shoots a woman. There is going to be a lot of damage. Women have killed men with weapons and also with their hands multiple times. It's not as though this doesn't happen.

[In_Trance]

check your local laws

[Asker]

The thing is, it's not so much the local laws as it is the local cops that you need to check with, because they're the ones that are going to arrest you for hitting a woman. But if she hits you, they're not going to do anything at all.