Indecent assault is an offence of

aggravated assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cri ...

in some common law-based

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Ju ...

s. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, whi ...

England and Wales

Indecent assault was a broadly defined offence under sections 14 and 15 of the

Sexual Offences Act 1956 The Sexual Offences Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz.2 c.69) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed (from 1 May 2004) by the Se ...

. It was replaced, with prospective effect only, by

under section 3 of the

Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It partly replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with more specific and explicit wording. It also created several new offences such as non-consensual voyeuri ...

. A range of acts toward the more severe among those in its

actus reus (), sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime, is the Law Latin term for the "guilty act" which, when proved beyond a reasonable doubt in combination with the ("guilty mind"), produces criminal liability in t ...

augmented other offences, including

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

(section 1). Prosecutions can proceed under sections 14 and 15 of the 1956 act for offences committed before the new law came into force. The mens rea and actus reus of the crime are similar to that for common law assault and/or battery. However with an additional element of "indecent circumstances". These were present if a "reasonable person" would believe the act indecent, whatever the belief of the accused.

India

In India it is punishable under section 354 of the

Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established i ...

Australia

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, the offence of indecent assault is punishable under Section 61L of the

Crimes Act 1900 The ''Crimes Act'' 1900. is a New South Wales statute that sets out the majority of criminal offences for the state of New South Wales in Australia. It, the Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914. and the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 form the maj ...

. The mens rea and

are the same for the common law offence of assault, the only distinction being that the act committed must have a sexual connotation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indecent assault Assault