Suggesting, as C_C & Richard seem to be doing, that no difference in response is appropriate regarding male & female assailants is simply wrong. I've heard nothing to convince me otherwise.
You must be blind as a bat, no offence, because that is the central nexus of this thread.
You have utterly failed to justify your position and sidestepped the issue- you brought up the 'strength' idea but never explained why a girl of same strength/height is more abbhorrable to hit than a guy....
CC, if a girl(shall we say of weight 8 and a half stone, 5ft 3,an average woman who doesnt go wieght trianing etc)went up to you in a pub or club and punched you in the face once and walked away (for an unknown reason), would you go after her an deck her?(So no self defense in this situation, this would be a simple act of revenge).
Would you be imclined to refrain from hitting her back?
or would you be inclined to go after her and give her as good as she gave (ie one punch in the face, by you a bloke I will assume is an average 12stone, 5 ft 10)?
A fairly simple answer is required!!!!!
To be honest, i dont know for sure. People say a lotta things but from my experience, the mood of a person is a central decisive issue.... put it this way: say i found out that my dad died or i just broke up with my girlfriend, then all bets are off.
But here's what i would do in a normal 'regular day' situation:
I dont 'go after' someone after they've walked away- that is imbecellic and perpetrating the situation from my point of view. I usually respond instantaneously either way...
If i land any blows, it would be while she was hitting me or immediately after her punch.
If she is as small as you say and doesnt know any fighting, i might take pity on her and not clock her back- merely restrain myself. If she does know fighting,then i am going at it full blast, no questions asked, not an iota of remorse.
But that is besides the point. The fundamental point i am making is, given that the other person is the primary aggressor, i wouldnt differentiate based on gender. I am equally likely/unlikely to clock her or a guy of the same dimensions you've mentioned.