
An assault is the act of inflicting 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 criminal prosecution, civil liability, or both. Generally, the common law definition is the same in criminal and tort law.

An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, torture, or kill". Perpetrators of these attacks throw corrosive liquids at their victims, usually at their faces, burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones. Acid attacks can often lead to permanent blindness.

Director of Public Prosecutions v Santa-Bermudez [2003] EWHC 2908 (Admin), also known as DPP v Santana-Bermudez, is a 2003 decision of the Divisional Court of Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, considering an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in a criminal assault case.

Glitter bombing is an act of protest in which activists throw glitter on people at public events. Glitter bombers have frequently been motivated by, though not limited to, their targets' rape apologism or opposition to same-sex marriage.

Milkshaking is the act of throwing milkshakes and other drinks at targets as a means of political protest in a manner similar to egging or pieing. The target of a milkshaking is splashed or splattered with a milkshake that is thrown from a cup or bottle. The trend gained popularity in the United Kingdom in May 2019 during the European Parliament election and was used against right-wing and far-right political candidates, such as Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage and Carl Benjamin, as well as other members of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the Brexit Party.
On 21 June 1998, Daniel Nivel, member of the National Gendarmerie was assaulted in the city of Lens by German football hooligans during the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He fell into a six-week coma and was left with permanent disability.
R v Savage; R v Parmenter [1991] were conjoined final domestic appeals in English criminal law confirming that the mens rea of malicious wounding or the heavily twinned statutory offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm will in all but very exceptional cases include that for the lesser offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Both sections of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 only require damage to have resulted from a violent or otherwise malicious act of the defendant. An appellate court may use its statutory power under a 1968 Act to substitute a charge with an appropriate lesser charge.

Stone throwing or rock throwing is the act of throwing a stone. When it is directed at another person, it is often considered a form of criminal battery.