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. 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. Assault can be committed with or without a weapon and can range from physical violence to threats of violence. 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.
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. Some jurisdictions combined the two offenses into a single crime called "assault and battery", which then became widely referred to as just "assault". 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. 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.
Related definitions
Battery Battery is a criminal offense that involves the use of physical force against another person without their consent. 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. 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,An act is volitional if it is purposeful and deliberate as opposed to reflexive or involuntary (see Dennis J. Baker, Glanville Williams, Textbook of Criminal Law (London, Sweet & Maxwell 2012) at p 901). For example. a person who has restless leg syndrome kicks his wife while asleep. The contact, although, harmful, would not constitute battery because the act was not willful. 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.A criminal battery may also be committed if the harmful or offensive contact is due to the criminal negligence of the defendant.
Aggravated assault Aggravated assault is a violent crime that involves violence or the threat of violence. 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.
Aggravated assault is, in some jurisdictions, a stronger form of assault, usually using a deadly weapon. A person has committed an aggravated assault when that person attempts to: cause serious bodily injury to another person with a deadly weapon have sexual relations with a person who is under the age of consent cause bodily harm by recklessly operating a motor vehicle during road rage; often referred to as either vehicular assault or aggravated assault with a motor vehicle.
Aggravated assault can also be charged in cases of attempted harm against police officers or other public servants.
Defenses 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:
Consent Exceptions exist to cover unsolicited physical contact that amounts 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.(RvG ref 6. 1980): see 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 Crim LR 573), or horseplay (R v Jones 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.
Arrest and other official acts 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.
Punishment 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. This defence was abolished in Wales in 2022. Section 1. This section came into force two years after the Act received royal assent (see section 5(1)).
Many countries, including some US states, also permit the use of controversial corporal punishment for children in school or home.
Prevention of crime 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.
Defense of property 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.
By country
Reported rate The below table shows the rate of reported serious assaults for individual countries according to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the last available year.
Country Reportedserious assaults per 100,000 Year 5.2 2023 105.7 2023 326.9 2019 15.0 2023 370.3 2023 7.9 2023 309.8 2023 48.9 2023 3.2 2021 906.1 2022 326.0 2008 0.4 2006 392.8 2023 7.6 2019 567.9 2023 312.4 2022 44.3 2017 58.2 2017 107.5 2020 91.6 2023 24.9 2023 775.6 2014 106.1 2023 123.7 2006 56.7 2023 5.1 2014 587.2 2018 25.4 2023 226.9 2023 88.5 2023 223.9 2023 142.1 2023 23.6 2023 11.6 2023 39.4 2023 34.8 2023 989.3 2023 26.2 2023 37.1 2023 0.4 2011 77.4 2022 England and Wales 950.7 2022 2.7 2023 347.9 2021 32.0 2023 628.3 2023 5.1 2019 182.8 2023 156.6 2021 12.8 2023 1958.5 2023 112.6 2023 3.0 2007 109.2 2016 169.4 2023 11.7 2018 22.1 2023 50.5 2023 136.6 2014 49.8 2023 25.8 2013 12.0 2022 (Central) 0.0 2020 109.9 2023 80.7 2023 1.4 2023 47.1 2008 81.9 2023 17.8 2023 6.7 2023 11.0 2017 41.6 2022 18.1 2021 24.5 2009 0.5 2020 28.6 2023 118.5 2016 370.1 2009 234.9 2023 4.8 2023 102.7 2023 0.1 2022 8.6 2015 10.5 2023 77.2 2017 41.1 2023 21.2 2021 47.7 2023 4.4 2023 536.0 2015 0.3 2023 23.8 2023 120.1 2023 2.3 2009 1.7 2023 336.8 2021 0.2 2016 25.3 2023 1068.8 2023 15.1 2019 9.1 2013 8.2 2023 47.2 2023 37.1 2023 0.8 2023 12.8 2023 13.0 2023 103.3 2023 9.1 2023 9.2 2022 0.7 2023 13.3 2023 7.3 2023 109.1 2022 0.4 2021 1.0 2023 13.0 2020 29.7 2013 359.3 2023 919.8 2023 62.0 2019 58.3 2023 2.4 2010 80.1 2023 337.1 2008 6.7 2023 23.1 2023 7.7 2023 215.6 2008 290.4 2017 44.3 2023 55.3 2023 12.3 2019 1117.2 2023 137.7 2023 45.5 2023 9.9 2023 0.7 2018 2.2 2011 47.7 2011 4.5 2015 28.0 2023 49.0 2018 101.8 2014 1.6 2006 14.3 2017 3.8 2020 2.0 2022 277.9 2022 15.7 2023 3.9 2021 0.0 2023 6.3 2018 0.1 2009 395.5 2008
Estimates of prevalence The percentage of population which was physically assaulted in the past 12 months according to statistical surveys is shown in the below table.
Country Female Male Total Year 1.9 2.7 2.3 2016 1.7 1.8 1.7 2023 2.9 - - 2019 0.5 1.0 - 2019 1.8 1.6 - 2021 - - 0.5 2023 3.1 4.0 3.6 2016 - - 36.8 2011 2.4 2.5 2.5 2019 2.3 4.1 - 2018 2.2 1.3 - 2019 0.8 1.0 0.9 2023 0.4 0.6 0.5 2022 2.3 2.7 - 2022 2.6 - - 2018 0.2 0.6 - 2019 - - 3.7 2013 2.2 5.7 - 2017 2.7 2.9 2.8 2022 - - 7.0 2007 8.7 10.1 9.4 2019 England and Wales 1.4 2.1 1.7 2018 1.1 2.2 1.7 2023 1.1 1.4 - 2021 3.2 3.2 - 2021 6.4 4.5 5.5 2022 1.0 1.4 1.2 2022 0.4 0.4 - 2018 1.3 2.8 2.0 2020 2.3 4.7 - 2019 2.0 2.4 - 2019 1.9 2.2 2.1 2023 0.0 0.0 0.0 2022 0.9 - - 2018 1.0 2.0 2.0 2019 0.7 1.2 0.9 2024 1.0 1.4 1.2 2016 5.0 - - 2022 3.4 3.5 - 2018 0.4 - - 2018 6.0 - - 2016 2.5 4.8 - 2018 2.7 6.0 - 2018 2.7 7.6 - 2019 1.2 1.3 1.2 2023 4.3 5.3 - 2018 0.7 3.2 - 2018 - - 9.7 2019 - - 5.5 2014 1.8 2.4 2.1 2023 - - 1.4 2019 - - 0.6 2020 0.4 2.1 - 2019 - - 0.6 2020 - - 1.4 2016 2.6 2.6 2.6 2019 - - 2.3 2023 5.0 - - 2017 - - 2.0 2023 1.6 1.4 1.5 2022 - - 0.6 2018 0.5 2.6 - 2019 - 0.5 0.5 2019 1.3 1.8 1.6 2021 1.0 - - 2019 1.1 0.5 0.8 2020 0.3 0.8 0.6 2019 - - 0.3 2022 45.0 29.0 - 2021 1.5 1.6 - 2018 2.2 3.2 2.7 2023 0.8 1.2 1.0 2021 0.1 0.2 - 2022 0.7 2.6 - 2019 2.1 - - 2022 0.6 1.0 - 2023 0.0 - - 2019 1.6 1.5 - 2019 4.8 2.9 - 2019 - - 5.4 2024 - - 1.2 2023 0.1 - - 2021 0.9 0.7 - 2020 3.4 6.3 - 2019
Australia