Assault Law

Assault is an intentional attempt or threat to inflict injury upon a person, coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm, which creates a reasonable apprehension of bodily harm or offensive contact in another. Assault does not require actual touching or bodily harm to the victim. Assault and battery are sometimes used interchangeably, but battery is an unjustified harmful or offensive touching of another. Battery also differs from assault in that it does not require the victim to be in apprehension of harm.

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, provides national leadership in developing the nation's capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

An assault is classified as either an attempted battery or an intentional frightening of another person; physical contact is not an element of the crime in either of these situations. Many states do not define assault, and some states list it under attempt rather than under assault.

BJS mission: To collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. These data are critical to Federal, State, and local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded.

An offence of common assault is committed when a person either assaults another person or commits a battery: * An assault is committed when a person intentionally or recklessly causes another to apprehend the immediate infliction of unlawful force. (Archbold 19-166 and 19-172) * A battery is committed when a person intentionally and recklessly applies unlawful force to another. (Archbold 19-166a and 19-174 to 19-175).

The University of Westminster is a large multicultural institution with many International students. Students should familiarize themselves with the main laws within the UK as they may differ from other countries.

Several similarities and differences with regard to sexual assault legislation exist among the countries in the CEE/FSU region. Like other countries around the world, rape prevention in this region suffers from underreporting. Rapes are underreported for similar reasons as the rest of the world: self-blame, fear of being disbelieved, fear of facing the perpetrator, etc.

ACSSA aims to improve access to current information and resources in order to assist those committed to working against sexual assault. ACSSA will help to support and develop strategies that aim to prevent, respond to, and ultimately reduce the incidence of this crime.

Assaults and violence to the person generally: Justification and Excuse

Whoever makes any gesture or any preparation, intending or knowing it to be likely that such gesture or preparation will cause any person present to apprehend that he who makes that gesture or preparation is about to use criminal force to that person, is said to commit an assault. Mere words do not amount to an assault. But the words which a person uses may give to his gestures or preparations such a meaning as may make those gestures or preparations amount to an assault.

Similar to the United States, there are many different ways in which an assault can occur. Generally an assault occurs when a person directly or indirectly applies force intentionally to another person. An assault can also occur when a person attempts to assault another or threatens to do so without the consent of the other person. An injury need not occur for an assault to be committed. The force used must be offensive in nature with an intention to apply force. Therefore, in certain circumstances, a “tap”, “pinch”, “push”, or other minor physical action can be considered an assault. 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.

Advocates for Victims of Assault, Inc. is dedicated to the promotion of non-violence through comprehensive, culturally relevant support for trauma survivors, accountability for offenders, and awareness and education in Summit County, Colorado.

The National Center for Victims of Crime is the nation's leading resource and advocacy organization for crime victims and those who serve them. Since its inception in 1985, the National Center has worked with grassroots organizations and criminal justice agencies throughout the United States serving millions of crime victims.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is the nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE and the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline at rainn.org, and publicizes the hotline's free, confidential services; educates the public about sexual assault; and leads national efforts to prevent sexual assault, improve services to victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.

SAVAS is dedicated to survivors of sexual assault, and to ending sexual assault in our community. We provide a safe environment in order to encourage survivors of rape and sexual abuse to come forward. We are pledged to return to these survivors the power of making their own decisions to helping them contribute to their own recovery. To this end, SAVAS advocates for survivors and their loved ones and works to educate the community on childhood sexual abuse and rape.

VictimLaw has been designed as a comprehensive, user-friendly, on-line database of victims’ rights statutes, tribal laws, constitutional amendments, court rules, administrative code provisions, and case summaries of related court decisions that meets the needs of a wide variety of users with different levels of substantive and technological expertise. Such ready access to information can advance the cause of crime victims’ rights by facilitating the exercise, implementation, and enforcement of those rights.

If you have been sexually assaulted or think you have been, first, you must overcome the stigma of reporting the event. The stigma of reporting a sexual assault or rape for both women and men is not as great as it once was, and this change works in favor of the victim. The women's movement and the media have done a great deal to remove the stigma of being a victim of sexual assault.

Our mission is to inform all Americans, men and women, about the issues surrounding national security; to address their fears about safety and security on a personal, family, community, national and international level; to highlight the connection between individual safety and a strong national defense; to increase civic participation and political responsibility; and to empower all Americans to become proactive defenders of our national security and community safety.

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program was conceived in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to meet a need for reliable, uniform crime statistics for the nation. In 1930, the FBI was tasked with collecting, publishing, and archiving those statistics. Today, several annual statistical publications, such as the comprehensive Crime in the United States, are produced from data provided by nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States. Other annual publications, such as Hate Crime Statistics and Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted address specialized facets of crime such as hate crime or the murder and assaults of law enforcement officers respectively.

SATI, Inc. training is essential for criminal justice professionals, including police, prosecutors, judges, probation and parole officers. Community-based advocates, social workers, military personnel, state victim/witness assistance employees, sexual assault forensic examiners and other medical staff will also greatly benefit by obtaining a clear understanding of the role of law enforcement and how collaborative efforts can improve coordinated community responses to crimes of sexual violence.

In the United States, someone is raped or sexually assaulted every two minutes. While the incidence of sexual assault has fallen by over 60 percent since 1992, rape and sexual assault are still all too common. Most victims of rape are women, but men can also be the victims of rape and sexual assault.

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