” but I do not think they should ever say “unprovoked” because it implies some victims deserve to be bloodied and battered because they knew the offender or had fought back.”
Wrong.
un·pro·voked
[ˌənprəˈvōkt]
adjective
(of an attack, or a display of aggression or emotion) not caused by anything done or said:
I know.
I meant the rest of the media presents “provoked” as the alternative to “unprovoked” as when school bullies gang up on a victim or someone argues and the aggressor beats the victim so the media say it was “a fight”.
No one deserves to be assaulted.