Legal Definitions - violence

Violence

In legal terms, violence generally refers to the unlawful use of physical force, often accompanied by strong emotion, with the specific intent to cause harm. While it most commonly involves direct physical contact or injury, some legal interpretations, particularly in specific contexts like labor disputes, can broaden this definition. In such cases, actions like misleading statements, false publicity, or veiled threats that create an atmosphere of intimidation or coercion, even without direct physical contact, may be considered a form of violence.

• Example 1: Physical Assault
  

  During a street altercation, one individual intentionally shoves another person to the ground, causing them to scrape their knee. This act is considered violence because it involves the unlawful application of physical force with the clear intent to harm or injure the other person.

• Example 2: Property Damage with Intimidation
  

  A disgruntled former employee, seeking revenge, intentionally smashes the windows of their previous workplace while shouting threats at the current staff inside. This action constitutes violence because it involves the unlawful use of physical force (destroying property) combined with an intent to intimidate and cause fear among the people present, extending beyond mere property damage.

• Example 3: Coercion in a Labor Dispute
  

  During a contentious union strike, picketers block the entrance to a business, preventing non-striking employees from entering, and repeatedly make false claims to the media about the company's unsafe practices, causing public alarm and economic damage. While no direct physical assault occurs, these actions, which involve creating a hostile environment through intimidation, obstruction, and deliberate misinformation designed to harm the business and its employees, could be legally interpreted as violence within the context of labor law.

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence refers to acts of violence that occur between individuals who are members of the same household or who share a close familial or intimate relationship, including former members of a household. It encompasses physical injury or the creation of a reasonable fear that physical injury or harm will be inflicted by one member against another, whether an adult or a child. This term is also sometimes referred to as domestic abuse or family violence.

• Example 1: Spousal Assault
  

  A husband, in a fit of anger, throws a plate at his wife during an argument, narrowly missing her head but causing her significant fear and distress. This is an act of domestic violence because it involves the threat of physical harm by one spouse against another within their shared household, creating a reasonable fear of injury.

• Example 2: Child Abuse Creating Fear
  

  A parent frequently screams at their child, punches holes in walls, and threatens to hurt the child if they don't comply with demands. Even if no direct physical contact has occurred, the parent's actions create a constant and reasonable fear of physical injury or harm in the child, qualifying as domestic violence.

• Example 3: Violence by a Former Partner
  

  After a breakup, an ex-boyfriend, who previously lived with his former girlfriend, breaks into her apartment and physically assaults her. Despite no longer sharing a household, the violence committed by a former member of the household against the person they shared a household with is legally considered domestic violence due to the nature of their past intimate relationship and cohabitation.