Wounding - Section 20 and Section 18 Offences
This page provides an overview of wounding offences under Section 18 and Section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. It defines wounding and outlines the key elements of both offences, including their actus reus (physical elements) and potential sentences.
Definition: A wound is defined as "a cut or a break in the continuity of the whole skin with blood loss".
The page distinguishes between Section 20 GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm) and Section 18 wounding with intent:
- Section 20 carries a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment.
- Section 18, often referred to as "wounding with intent", can result in life imprisonment.
The actus reus of both offences consists of three elements:
- Unlawful act
- Infliction (causation)
- Malicious wound
Highlight: For an act to be unlawful, there must be no consent and the action must not be in self-defense.
The page provides two important case examples illustrating the concept of unlawfulness:
Example: In Rumelin (2019), consent to a Botox injection by an unqualified person was not considered valid consent.
Example: In R v BM (2018), consent was not a valid defense for body modifications that resulted in GBH under Section 18.
The concept of infliction, also known as causation, is briefly explained, emphasizing the need to establish both factual and legal causation.
