Everyone could line the street snickering and making fun of you. I doubt if you would even consider it. Yet, in medieval France, a man who had been physically abused by his wife was forced to do this so everyone could see how weak he was. This passive man, abused by his wife, has been the brunt of jokes and cartoons forever. We probably all accept the fact that both men and women can be the victim of emotional abuse.
Physical abuse is another story.
In our society we think of women as the victims and men as the aggressors in physical abuse. But that is not true. Equally as many, if not more, men are assaulted by their girlfriends or wives as vice versa. This runs counter to official documentation of female abuse against men. Less men report abuse.