*You should not use any means necessary to defend yourself against a woman. Women need men more than some of them are willing to admit. Men should be the protector of women in all cases. If it's bad enough find some way to restrain her and call the police. They can deal with it from there.
*If a woman truly means you harm you should do everything you can to restrain her with as minimal physical force as possible. Meaning do your best not to hit her. Many times a man is stronger than a woman so you want to be careful, as funny as that sounds, as you're trying to protect yourself. A man's fist can do exponentially more damage than just a bruise or broken bones. You can crush a woman inside with just the raised arm in anger, not to mention the emotional damage done when the blow is delivered. Women, whether people want to admit it or not, are the weaker sex. This is not a derogatory statement, it's fact. Physically we are the weaker sex. And we need protecting. I have heard of instances where the woman is the abuser. And she is probably given more favor than if the case would have been a man abusing the woman. It is because she is the weaker sex.
*It is my belief that even though most of the time women are the weaker of the two sexes a woman can be very dangerous if she decides that being physical is the way to go.
*Women are to be protected and cared for. Anything done to physically hurt a woman will always be frowned upon. In extreme cases some drastic measures may need to be taken. This, in the majority of instances, should be the very last resort.
*Men also need to be respected and cared for.
*I think what happens is that a breakdown in communication, past abuse, etc. contributes to the thinking that physical violence is the only way people will truly listen. Or it may be feelings from the past that are projected to another person in the future. And that person is not directly related to the reasons and justification in the person's mind for violence. A person that has been hurt will more than likely hurt someone else unless they deal with those issues and continue to press forward in a positive way. They also need emotional support from people they care about around them.
*Being abusive in an abusive situation can only cause more harm.