Medical-Legal Approach to Violence Perpetrated by Women against Men: Prospective Study by the Forensic Medicine Department in Marrakech

Abstract: Long overlooked, violence perpetrated by women against men remains a little-known phenomenon, often downplayed in most societies, whether developed or developing. The aim of this study is to assess the severity and medico-legal consequences of such violence, while describing the socio-demographic profile and clinical characteristics of male victims of female violence. This is a prospective, descriptive and analytical study conducted over an 18-month period in the Forensic Medicine Department of the Mohammed VI University Hospital Centre in Marrakech. All men who consulted for acts of violence were included. A total of 79 victims were identified. The average age of the victims was 60.16 years, while that of the aggressors was 34.68 years. Nearly 59% of victims had a medical, surgical or psychiatric history. In 53% of cases, men reported being assaulted by more than one woman. Physical violence was the most common form (92%), often the only form (78%). Blunt objects were the most commonly used (37%), mainly causing bruising (53%) and skin abrasions (27%). The injuries were mainly located on the head and limbs. From a forensic perspective, 79% of victims had a total incapacity to work (ITT) of less than 20 days, and only 11% of cases resulted in legal proceedings. These results highlight a reality that is still underestimated: female violence against men, although socially marginalized, is a real and complex forensic issue. It depends on multiple factors—age, vulnerability, marital context, number of aggressors, and cultural representations—and can, in some situations, reach extreme severity, even constituting a crime.