ABSTRACT
This chapter explains trespass to the person which consists of the torts of assault, battery and false imprisonment. It also explains the tort of Wilkinson v Downton 2 QB 57 and the tort of harassment. To claim for trespass the claimant must show that the act against them was a direct act. A claim under Wilkinson v Downton only requires one single act of harassment and this distinguishes it from a claim under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 created various criminal offences dealing with harassment. For a claim in battery the claimant does not need to prove that the defendant had an intention to harm the claimant as in criminal law but simply an intention to do the act, for example, to slap the claimant. The principle of 'transferred intent' from criminal law also applies in trespass.
