And that's the real trick. You might be able to get away with it, if they're embarrassed to have been taken down by a woman. But since it's probably a person that's known to the woman (this isn't really something that even the worst people would just randomly say to someone on the street, I don't think), the man might come back with intent to actually cause immediate harm. Or might call the cops, and then you're right back to potentially getting arrested.

Yeah, I agree 1000%, the people doing this deserve violence. But 'deserving' something doesn't mean that the law won't come down on you like a ton of bricks. It's frustrating as shit.