In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so.[1] It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in criminal prosecution, civil liability, or both. Additionally, assault is a criminal act in which a person intentionally causes fear of physical harm or offensive contact to another person.[2] [3] Assault can be committed with or without a weapon and can range from physical violence to threats of violence.[4] [5] Assault is frequently referred to as an attempt to commit battery, which is the deliberate use of physical force against another person. The deliberate inflicting of fear, apprehension, or terror is another definition of assault that can be found in several legal systems. Depending on the severity of the offense, assault may result in a fine, imprisonment, or even death.[6] [7]
Generally, the common law definition is the same in criminal and tort law.
Traditionally, common law legal systems have separate definitions for assault and battery. When this distinction is observed, battery refers to the actual bodily contact, whereas assault refers to a credible threat or attempt to cause battery.[8] Some jurisdictions combined the two offenses into a single crime called "assault and battery", which then became widely referred to as "assault".[9] [10] The result is that in many of these jurisdictions, assault has taken on a definition that is more in line with the traditional definition of battery. The legal systems of civil law and Scots law have never distinguished assault from battery.
Legal systems generally acknowledge that assaults can vary greatly in severity.[11] In the United States, an assault can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. In England and Wales and Australia, it can be charged as either common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) or grievous bodily harm (GBH). Canada also has a three-tier system: assault, assault causing bodily harm and aggravated assault. Separate charges typically exist for sexual assaults, affray and assaulting a police officer. Assault may overlap with an attempted crime; for example, an assault may be charged as attempted murder if it was done with intent to kill.
See main article: Battery (crime). Battery is a criminal offense that involves the use of physical force against another person without their consent.[12] [13] It is a type of assault and is considered a serious crime. Battery can include a wide range of actions, from slapping someone to causing serious harm or even death.[14] [15] Depending on the severity of the offense, it can carry a wide range of punishments, including jail time, fines, and probation.
In jurisdictions that make a distinction between the two, assault usually accompanies battery if the assailant both threatens to make unwanted contact and then carries through with this threat. See common assault. The elements of battery are that it is a volitional act,[16] done for the purpose of causing a harmful or offensive contact with another person or under circumstances that make such contact substantially certain to occur, and which causes such contact.[17]
Aggravated assault is a violent crime that involves violence or the threat of violence.[18] It is generally described as an intentional act that causes another person to fear imminent physical harm or injury. This can include the use of a weapon, or the threat of using a weapon. It is usually considered a felony offense and can carry severe penalties. Aggravated assault is often considered a very serious crime and can lead to long-term prison sentences.[19] [20] [21]
Aggravated assault is, in some jurisdictions, a stronger form of assault, usually using a deadly weapon.[22] A person has committed an aggravated assault when that person attempts to:
Aggravated assault can also be charged in cases of attempted harm against police officers or other public servants.[24] [25] [26] [27]
Although the range and precise application of defenses varies between jurisdictions, the following represents a list of the defenses that may apply to all levels of assault:
Exceptions exist to cover unsolicited physical contact which amount to normal social behavior known as de minimis harm. Assault can also be considered in cases involving the spitting on, or unwanted exposure of bodily fluids to others.
Consent may be a complete or partial defense to assault. In some jurisdictions, most notably England, it is not a defense where the degree of injury is severe, as long as there is no legally recognized good reason for the assault.[28] This can have important consequences when dealing with issues such as consensual sadomasochistic sexual activity, the most notable case being the Operation Spanner case. Legally recognized good reasons for consent include surgery, activities within the rules of a game (mixed martial arts, wrestling, boxing, or contact sports), bodily adornment (R v Wilson [1996] Crim LR 573), or horseplay (R v Jones [1987] Crim LR 123). However, any activity outside the rules of the game is not legally recognized as a defense of consent. In Scottish law, consent is not a defense for assault.[29]
Police officers and court officials have a general power to use force for the purpose of performing an arrest or generally carrying out their official duties. Thus, a court officer taking possession of goods under a court order may use force if reasonably necessary.
In some jurisdictions such as Singapore, judicial corporal punishment is part of the legal system. The officers who administer the punishment have immunity from prosecution for assault.
In the United States, England, Northern Ireland, Australia and Canada, corporal punishment administered to children by their parent or legal guardian is not legally considered to be assault unless it is deemed to be excessive or unreasonable. What constitutes "reasonable" varies in both statutory law and case law. Unreasonable physical punishment may be charged as assault or under a separate statute for child abuse.
In English law, s. 58 Children Act 2004 limits the availability of the lawful correction defense to common assault.[29] This defence was abolished in Wales in 2022.[30]
Many countries, including some US states, also permit the use of controversial corporal punishment for children in school or home.
This may or may not involve self-defense in that, using a reasonable degree of force to prevent another from committing a crime could involve preventing an assault, but it could be preventing a crime not involving the use of personal violence.
Some jurisdictions allow force to be used in defense of property, to prevent damage either in its own right, or under one or both of the preceding classes of defense in that a threat or attempt to damage property might be considered a crime (in English law, under s5 Criminal Damage Act 1971 it may be argued that the defendant has a lawful excuse to damage property during the defense and a defense under s3 Criminal Law Act 1967) subject to the need to deter vigilantes and excessive self-help. Furthermore, some jurisdictions, such as Ohio, allow residents in their homes to use force when ejecting an intruder. The resident merely needs to assert to the court that they felt threatened by the intruder's presence.
The below table shows the rate of reported serious assault for individual countries according to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the last available year.[31]
| Country | Reported serious assaults per 100,000 | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.4 | 2022 | ||
| 39.1 | 2022 | ||
| 327.5 | 2019 | ||
| 3.2 | 2022 | ||
| 366.9 | 2022 | ||
| 7.4 | 2019 | ||
| 288.9 | 2022 | ||
| 48.4 | 2022 | ||
| 3.2 | 2021 | ||
| 878.6 | 2022 | ||
| 329.1 | 2008 | ||
| 0.4 | 2006 | ||
| 326.3 | 2022 | ||
| 7.4 | 2019 | ||
| 500.5 | 2021 | ||
| 310.4 | 2022 | ||
| 46.0 | 2017 | ||
| 58.5 | 2017 | ||
| 107.2 | 2020 | ||
| 80.1 | 2022 | ||
| 15.6 | 2022 | ||
| 745.3 | 2014 | ||
| 216.8 | 2020 | ||
| 121.0 | 2006 | ||
| 46.2 | 2022 | ||
| 5.2 | 2014 | ||
| 527.8 | 2018 | ||
| 19.0 | 2020 | ||
| 209.6 | 2022 | ||
| 84.5 | 2022 | ||
| 249.7 | 2022 | ||
| 144.4 | 2022 | ||
| 19.3 | 2022 | ||
| 14.1 | 2022 | ||
| 39.7 | 2022 | ||
| 36.7 | 2022 | ||
| 1020.1 | 2022 | ||
| 27.8 | 2022 | ||
| 37.1 | 2022 | ||
| 0.4 | 2011 | ||
| 76.7 | 2022 | ||
| 950.7 | 2022 | ||
| 4.4 | 2022 | ||
| 352.1 | 2021 | ||
| 31.2 | 2022 | ||
| 606.3 | 2022 | ||
| 5.1 | 2019 | ||
| 173.5 | 2022 | ||
| 155.1 | 2021 | ||
| 12.8 | 2022 | ||
| 1790.5 | 2022 | ||
| 121.8 | 2021 | ||
| 3.1 | 2007 | ||
| 109.0 | 2016 | ||
| 210.7 | 2022 | ||
| 11.6 | 2018 | ||
| 21.4 | 2022 | ||
| 49.8 | 2022 | ||
| 136.6 | 2014 | ||
| 39.2 | 2022 | ||
| 25.9 | 2013 | ||
| 12.1 | 2022 | ||
| (Central) | 0.0 | 2020 | |
| 121.3 | 2022 | ||
| 82.8 | 2022 | ||
| 106.4 | 2022 | ||
| 50.0 | 2008 | ||
| 90.7 | 2022 | ||
| 15.7 | 2022 | ||
| 6.6 | 2022 | ||
| 11.2 | 2017 | ||
| 41.8 | 2022 | ||
| 19.0 | 2021 | ||
| 24.5 | 2009 | ||
| 0.5 | 2020 | ||
| 29.1 | 2022 | ||
| 119.7 | 2016 | ||
| 364.9 | 2009 | ||
| 259.4 | 2022 | ||
| 5.3 | 2022 | ||
| 107.5 | 2022 | ||
| 0.1 | 2022 | ||
| 8.8 | 2015 | ||
| 12.1 | 2021 | ||
| 74.9 | 2017 | ||
| 41.3 | 2022 | ||
| 20.9 | 2021 | ||
| 51.0 | 2022 | ||
| 5.3 | 2020 | ||
| 535.9 | 2015 | ||
| 11.1 | 2021 | ||
| 20.4 | 2022 | ||
| 155.1 | 2022 | ||
| 2.3 | 2009 | ||
| 1.6 | 2022 | ||
| 374.1 | 2021 | ||
| 0.2 | 2016 | ||
| 27.9 | 2022 | ||
| 932.2 | 2021 | ||
| 14.7 | 2019 | ||
| 9.4 | 2013 | ||
| 6.5 | 2022 | ||
| 45.1 | 2022 | ||
| 35.6 | 2022 | ||
| 0.8 | 2022 | ||
| 11.6 | 2022 | ||
| 13.2 | 2022 | ||
| 112.8 | 2022 | ||
| 8.4 | 2022 | ||
| 9.0 | 2022 | ||
| 1.1 | 2019 | ||
| 12.9 | 2022 | ||
| 7.2 | 2022 | ||
| 108.7 | 2022 | ||
| 0.4 | 2021 | ||
| 1.2 | 2022 | ||
| 13.0 | 2020 | ||
| 29.7 | 2013 | ||
| 358.8 | 2022 | ||
| 850.1 | 2022 | ||
| 52.7 | 2019 | ||
| 58.0 | 2022 | ||
| 2.4 | 2010 | ||
| 73.4 | 2022 | ||
| 326.2 | 2008 | ||
| 7.7 | 2022 | ||
| 22.9 | 2022 | ||
| 5.4 | 2022 | ||
| 212.6 | 2008 | ||
| 295.5 | 2017 | ||
| 51.7 | 2022 | ||
| 42.6 | 2022 | ||
| 12.7 | 2019 | ||
| 416.6 | 2022 | ||
| 99.5 | 2022 | ||
| 44.0 | 2022 | ||
| 8.7 | 2022 | ||
| 0.7 | 2018 | ||
| 2.2 | 2011 | ||
| 48.0 | 2011 | ||
| 4.5 | 2015 | ||
| 13.5 | 2022 | ||
| 47.9 | 2018 | ||
| 101.7 | 2014 | ||
| 1.7 | 2006 | ||
| 14.3 | 2017 | ||
| 3.8 | 2020 | ||
| 2.2 | 2022 | ||
| 280.6 | 2022 | ||
| 15.3 | 2022 | ||
| 3.9 | 2021 | ||
| 0.0 | 2022 | ||
| 6.3 | 2018 | ||
| 0.1 | 2009 | ||
| 408.3 | 2008 |
The term 'assault', when used in legislation, commonly refers to both common assault and battery, even though the two offences remain distinct. Common assault involves intentionally or recklessly causing a person to apprehend the imminent infliction of unlawful force, whilst battery refers to the actual infliction of force.[32]
Each state has legislation relating to the act of assault, and offences against the act that constitute assault are heard in the magistrates' court of that state or indictable offences are heard in a district or supreme court of that state. The legislation that defines assault of each state outline what the elements are that make up the assault, where the assault is sectioned in legislation or criminal codes, and the penalties that apply for the offence of assault.[33]
In New South Wales, the Crimes Act 1900[34] defines a range of assault offences deemed more serious than common assault and which attract heavier penalties. These include:
Assault is an offence under s. 265 of the Canadian Criminal Code.[41] There is a wide range of the types of assault that can occur. Generally, an assault occurs when a person directly or indirectly applies force intentionally to another person without their consent. It can also occur when a person attempts to apply such force, or threatens to do so, without the consent of the other person. An injury need not occur for an assault to be committed, but the force used in the assault must be offensive in nature with an intention to apply force. It can be an assault to "tap", "pinch", "push", or direct another such minor action toward another, but an accidental application of force is not an assault.
The potential punishment for an assault in Canada varies depending on the manner in which the charge proceeds through the court system and the type of assault that is committed. The Criminal Code defines assault as a dual offence (indictable or summary offence). Police officers can arrest someone without a warrant for an assault if it is in the public's interest to do so notwithstanding S.495(2)(d) of the Code. This public interest is usually satisfied by preventing a continuation or repetition of the offence on the same victim.
Some variations on the ordinary crime of assault include:
An individual cannot consent to an assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, or any sexual assault. Consent will also be vitiated if two people consent to fight but serious bodily harm is intended and caused (R v Paice; R v Jobidon). A person cannot consent to serious bodily harm.
Assault in Ancient Greece was normally termed hubris. Contrary to modern usage, the term did not have the extended connotation of overweening pride, self-confidence or arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution. In Ancient Greece, "hubris" referred to actions which, intentionally or not, shamed and humiliated the victim, and frequently the perpetrator as well. It was most evident in the public and private actions of the powerful and rich.
Violations of the law against hubris included, what would today be termed, assault and battery; sexual crimes ranging from forcible rape of women or children to consensual but improper activities; or the theft of public or sacred property.[42] Two well-known cases are found in the speeches of Demosthenes, a prominent statesman and orator in ancient Greece. These two examples occurred when first, in addition to other acts of violence, Meidias allegedly punched Demosthenes in the face in the theater (Against Meidias), and second (Against Konon), when the defendant allegedly severely beat him.
Hubris, though not specifically defined, was a legal term and was considered a crime in classical Athens. It was also considered the greatest sin of the ancient Greek world. That was so because it not only was proof of excessive pride, but also resulted in violent acts by or to those involved. The category of acts constituting hubris for the ancient Greeks apparently broadened from the original specific reference to mutilation of a corpse, or a humiliation of a defeated foe, or irreverent, "outrageous treatment", in general.
The meaning was eventually further generalized in its modern English usage to apply to any outrageous act or exhibition of pride or disregard for basic moral laws. Such an act may be referred to as an "act of hubris", or the person committing the act may be said to be hubristic. Atë, Greek for 'ruin, folly, delusion', is the action performed by the hero, usually because of their hubris, or great pride, that leads to their death or downfall.
Crucial to this definition are the ancient Greek concepts of honor (timē) and shame. The concept of timē included not only the exaltation of the one receiving honor, but also the shaming of the one overcome by the act of hubris. This concept of honor is akin to a zero-sum game. Rush Rehm simplifies this definition to the contemporary concept of "insolence, contempt, and excessive violence".
The Indian Penal Code covers the punishments and types of assault in Chapter 16, sections 351 through 358.
The Code further explains that "mere words do not amount to an assault. But the words which a person uses may give to their gestures or preparation such a meaning as may make those gestures or preparations amount to an assault". Assault is in Indian criminal law an attempt to use criminal force (with criminal force being described in s.350). The attempt itself has been made an offence in India, as in other states.
The Criminal Code Act (chapter 29 of Part V; sections 351 to 365) creates a number of offences of assault.[43] Assault is defined by section 252 of that Act. Assault is a misdemeanor punishable by one year imprisonment; assault with "intent to have carnal knowledge of him or her" or who indecently assaults another, or who commits other more-serious variants of assault (as defined in the Act) are guilty of a felony, and longer prison terms are provided for.[44]
Marshall Islands
The offence of assault is created by section 113 of the Criminal Code.[45] A person is guilty of this offence if they unlawfully offer or attempt, with force or violence, to strike, beat, wound, or do bodily harm to, another.
Section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 creates the offence of assault, and section 3 of that Act creates the offence of assault causing harm.
South African law does not draw the distinction between assault and battery. Assault is a common law crime defined as "unlawfully and intentionally applying force to the person of another, or inspiring a belief in that other that force is immediately to be applied to him". The law also recognises the crime of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, where grievous bodily harm is defined as "harm which in itself is such as seriously to interfere with health".[46] The common law crime of indecent assault was repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007, and replaced by a statutory crime of sexual assault.
Abolished offences:
See also: Battery (crime)#England and Wales.
English law provides for two offences of assault: common assault and battery. Assault (or common assault) is committed if one intentionally or recklessly causes another person to apprehend immediate and unlawful personal violence. Violence in this context means any unlawful touching, though there is some debate over whether the touching must also be hostile. The terms "assault" and "common assault" often encompass the separate offence of battery, even in statutory settings such as section 40(3)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33).
A common assault is an assault that lacks any of the aggravating features which Parliament has deemed serious enough to deserve a higher penalty. Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that common assault, like battery, is triable only in a magistrates' court in England and Wales (unless it is linked to a more serious offence, which is triable in the Crown Court). Additionally, if a defendant has been charged on an indictment with assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), or racially/religiously aggravated assault, then a jury in the Crown Court may acquit the defendant of the more serious offence, but still convict of common assault if it finds common assault has been committed.
An assault which is aggravated by the scale of the injuries inflicted may be charged as offences causing "actual bodily harm" (ABH) or, in the severest cases, "grievous bodily harm" (GBH).
Other aggravated assault charges refer to assaults carried out against a specific target or with a specific intent:
In Scots law, assault is defined as an "attack upon the person of another".[48] There is no distinction made in Scotland between assault and battery (which is not a term used in Scots law), although, as in England and Wales, assault can be occasioned without a physical attack on another's person, as demonstrated in Atkinson v. HM Advocate[49] wherein the accused was found guilty of assaulting a shop assistant by simply jumping over a counter while wearing a ski mask. The court said:
Scots law also provides for a more serious charge of aggravated assault on the basis of such factors as severity of injury, the use of a weapon, or Hamesucken (to assault a person in their own home). The mens rea for assault is simply "evil intent",[50] although this has been held to mean no more than that assault "cannot be committed accidentally or recklessly or negligently" as upheld in Lord Advocate's Reference No 2 of 1992 where it was found that a "hold-up" in a shop justified as a joke would still constitute an offence.
It is a separate offence to assault on a constable in the execution of their duty, under section 90 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 8) (previously section 41 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (c. 77)) which provides that it is an offence for a person to, amongst other things, assault a constable in the execution of their duty or a person assisting a constable in the execution of their duty.
Several offences of assault exist in Northern Ireland. The Offences against the Person Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 100) creates the offences of:
The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 (c. 28 (N.I.)) creates the offences of:
That act formerly created the offence of 'Assault on a constable in the execution of his duty'. under section 7(1)(a), but that section has been superseded by section 66(1) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 (c. 32) which now provides that it is an offence for a person to, amongst other things, assault a constable in the execution of his duty, or a person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty.
In the United States, assault may be defined as an attempt to commit a battery. However, the crime of assault can encompass acts in which no battery is intended, but the defendant's act nonetheless creates reasonable fear in others that a battery will occur.
Four elements were required at common law:[51]
As the criminal law evolved, element one was weakened in most jurisdictions so that a reasonable fear of bodily injury would suffice. These four elements were eventually codified in most states.
The crime of assault generally requires that both the perpetrator and the victim of an assault be a natural person. Thus, unless the attack is directed by a person, an animal attack does not constitute an assault. However, under limited circumstances the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 treats a fetus as a separate person for the purposes of assault and other violent crimes.[52] [53]
Possible examples of defenses, mitigating circumstances, or failures of proof that may be raised in response to an assault charge include:
Laws on assault vary by state. Since each state has its own criminal laws, there is no universal assault law. Acts classified as assault in one state may be classified as battery, menacing, intimidation, reckless endangerment, etc. in another state. Assault is often subdivided into two categories, simple assault and aggravated assault.
Modern American statutes may define assault as including:
In some states, consent is a complete defense to assault. In other jurisdictions, mutual consent is an incomplete defense to an assault charge such that an assault charge is prosecuted as a less significant offense such as a petty misdemeanor.
States vary on whether it is possible to commit an "attempted assault" since it can be considered a double inchoate offense.
In Kansas the law on assault states:[62]
In New York State, assault (as defined in the New York State Penal Code Article 120)[63] requires an actual injury. Other states define this as battery; there is no crime of battery in New York. However, in New York if a person threatens another person with imminent injury without engaging in physical contact, that is called "menacing". A person who engages in that behavior is guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree (a Class A misdemeanor; punishable with up to one year incarceration, probation for an extended time, and a permanent criminal record) when they threaten to cause physical harm to another person, and guilty of aggravated harassment in the first degree (a Class E felony) if they have a previous conviction for the same offense.[64] [65] [66] [67] New York also has specific laws against hazing, when such threats are made as requirement to join an organization.
North Dakota law states:[68]
In Pennsylvania, an offender can be charged with simple assault if they:
A person convicted of simple assault can be ordered to up to two years in prison as a second-degree misdemeanor.[69]
An offender can be charged with aggravated assault if the offender:
A person convicted of aggravated assault can face up to 10 years in prison as a second-degree felony. However, if the crime is perpetrated against a firefighter or police officer, the offender may face first-degree felony charges carrying a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
In Tennessee assault is defined as follows:[70]
]
.