You'd be surprised how many judges would look at a man in a courtroom and be like "Really... ?" if he claimed domestic assault.
I filed a protective order against my ex-wife for hitting me in the face in front of out kids after a drop-off. The (female) judge said "You did poke the bear, though, right?"
I did let her know that, if the roles were reverse, I'd have likely and deservedly been in jail and asked if she'd have said the same to my ex. It was greeted with a smirk from the Judge. So, yeah... even judges overtly don't take domestic assault seriously when it's a female committing the act.