I will start with a disclaimer: I do not condone any form of physical violence either in the cockpit or elsewhere - unless it is in self defence. That said, if someone deliberately whacked me in the head with a newspaper in the cockpit I would immediately whack them back, but harder - unless they were too big to take on, or as was Antill's experience, a woman. Cowardice is sometimes the better part of valour and that is what lawyers are for. Women are not exempt from that avenue. If an altercation happens in the cockpit, the only smart thing to do after deciding whether to hit back or go for the lawyers would be to immediately walk off the job; ground the aircraft where it is. Doing anything else is a safety issue and diminishes any redress you may have.
However, in some cultures it seems that the only way an instructor or interrogator can gain any control or information is by resorting to physical intimidation. In such cultures they would laugh at our touchy-feely ways.
A funny true story. A Canadian Twin Otter pilot who was infamous for his short fuse had an ambition to fly the heavy iron. He finally cracked a go with a B 747 cargo operator. During simulator his ex RCAF instructor pilot was shouting and screaming at this pilot's lack of progress. Eventually he shouted once too loud, screamed once too often. Said pilot quietly got out of the seat and said something to the effect of " you can't talk to me like that" then decked the instructor. End of airline career, but rather satisfying at the time, I imagine.