Cecily Zamora
Assault is a criminal act in the UK that involves the intentional infliction of physical harm, offensive contact, or the threat of violence towards another person. The legal definition of assault covers a wide range of actions, including physical violence, the use of weapons, and threats of future violence. Consent can be a mitigating factor in assault cases, but it is not a defence if the degree of injury is severe. The punishment for assault varies depending on the severity of the offence and can include fines, imprisonment, or both. The maximum sentence for assault in the UK is life imprisonment in cases of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm or wounding.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | 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 |
| Common assault | When a person inflicts violence on someone else or makes them think they are going to be attacked. It does not have to involve physical violence. Examples include threatening words, a raised fist, or spitting |
| Actual bodily harm (ABH) | The assault has caused hurt or injury to the victim. Physical injury must be more than "trifling" or "transient", causing at least minor injuries or pain or discomfort. Psychological harm can also be covered by this offence |
| Grievous bodily harm (GBH) | The assault has caused serious physical harm, such as a broken bone |
| Sexual assault and rape | Types of sexual abuse, when someone forces another person to have sex (rape) or touches them in a sexual way without their consent (sexual assault) |
| Hate crime | When someone assaults another person because of their identity, such as race, religion, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability |
| Assault with a weapon | Assault can be committed with or without a weapon |
| Consent | Consent may be a complete or partial defence to assault. In some jurisdictions, most notably England, consent is not a defence when the degree of injury is severe |
| Corporal punishment | In England, Northern Ireland, Australia, and Canada, corporal punishment administered to children by their parent or legal guardian is not legally considered assault unless deemed excessive or unreasonable |
| Punishment | The punishment for common assault is a maximum of six months' imprisonment or a fine |
| Aggravated assault | If the assault is racially or religiously aggravated, the maximum sentence is seven years' imprisonment |
| Assault with intent | If the assault is committed with intent to cause GBH or wounding, the maximum sentence is life imprisonment |
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What You'll Learn
Common assault
The actus reus of a common assault is committed when one person causes another to apprehend or fear that force is about to be used to cause some degree of personal contact and possible injury. The victim must be aware that they are about to be subjected to violence, and there must be some quality of reasonableness to their apprehension. For example, if a person pulls their arm back as if to hit someone else, or throws a punch that fails to connect, this would constitute common assault.
Ordinary, harmless contact such as that encountered on a busy bus or train, or in a packed pub, is not considered assault. Similarly, genuine tackles in contact sports like football or rugby are not considered assault.
In England and Wales, common assault is a statutory offence, contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. However, in Haystead v DPP, the Divisional Court expressed the opinion that common assault remains a common law offence. It is usually tried summarily and is punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, a fine, or both.
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Actual bodily harm
In UK law, assault is defined as the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or threatening to do so. It can be committed with or without a weapon and can range from physical violence to threats of violence. The maximum punishment for assault is set out in statute under s.39 Criminal Justice Act 1988 as 6 months' imprisonment.
When sentencing for ABH, judges and magistrates consider all the facts, how blameworthy the offender is, and the level of harm they have caused, particularly to the victim. They also take into account aspects of the case that make the offence more serious and any factors that reduce its seriousness. The offender's culpability is also considered, including whether the assault was premeditated or motivated by factors such as the victim's race, disability, or gender identity. If the defendant pleads guilty, they will receive a reduced sentence.
ABH is a more serious offence if the victim is an emergency worker, including police, prison officers, fire service personnel, and paramedics. The maximum sentence for ABH is seven years' custody if the assault is racially or religiously aggravated.
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Grievous bodily harm
GBH means the assault has caused serious physical harm. It does not have to be permanent or dangerous. For example, a broken bone would amount to GBH, as it could lead to permanent disability. Other examples of GBH include internal wounding, such as the rupturing of blood vessels, and psychiatric injury.
The offence is more serious if committed with intent to cause GBH or wounding, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The offence committed without intent has a maximum sentence of 5 years. If the assault is racially or religiously aggravated, the maximum sentence is seven years' custody. The offence is also more serious if the victim is an emergency worker, including police, prison officers, fire service personnel, and paramedics.
GBH can be committed with or without a weapon and can be direct or indirect, such as creating a panic that results in people being trampled. For an offence to be committed unlawfully and maliciously, there must be no defence such as self-defence, force used for preventing crime, or defence of property.
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Consent and defence
Consent may be a complete or partial defence to assault. In some jurisdictions, most notably England, it is not a defence where the degree of injury is severe, as long as there is no legally recognised good reason for the assault. For instance, in R v BM (2018), consent was not accepted as a defence for certain body modifications. Similarly, in the controversial 1994 English case of Brown, the House of Lords decided by a majority that the defence of consent was not applicable in respect of sado-masochistic acts inflicted by a group of men on each other in private for their mutual pleasure. The freedom to engage in such activities was not considered to have any socially beneficial value.
However, in 1996, the English Court of Appeal held that consent was available as a defence to a man who branded his initials on the buttocks of his wife in the course of private consensual sexual activity. The Court of Appeal in McNally v R [2013] also determined that "depending on the circumstances, deception as to gender can vitiate consent". Legally recognised good reasons for consent include surgery, activities within the rules of a game (MMA, wrestling, boxing, or contact sports), bodily adornment, or horseplay. Any activity outside the rules of the game is not legally recognised as a defence of consent.
In the case of DPP v Brown [2018], the Irish Supreme Court addressed the question of when the “victim’s” consent to the application of harm can constitute a defence for the person charged with the offence of assault causing harm. By a majority, the Court decided that the consent of the victim could not constitute a defence where the harm was inflicted for an unlawful purpose. In English law, s. 58 Children Act 2004 limits the availability of the lawful correction defence to common assault. This defence was abolished in Wales in 2022. 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.
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Assault and battery
> 'an assault is committed where the defendant intentionally or recklessly causes the victim to apprehend immediate unlawful personal violence.'
The victim must be aware that they are about to be subjected to violence, and the defendant must have the ability to carry out the threat. The punishment for assault is a maximum of six months' imprisonment, as set out in statute under s.39 Criminal Justice Act 1988.
Battery is a specific common law offence, involving unlawful physical contact. It is defined as the deliberate use of physical force against another person. In practice, the wording will read "assault by beating", but this means the same as "battery". Consent is a defence to battery, and reasonable punishment is a common law defence to battery in England. The crime of "controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship", introduced in section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, has given rise to new sentencing guidelines that take into account significant aggravating factors such as abuse of trust, resulting in potentially longer sentences for acts of battery within the context of domestic violence.
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