Yes, hitting a girl is illegal in every U.S. state, and the law treats it the same as hitting anyone else. Criminal assault and battery statutes are written in gender-neutral terms, so the victim’s sex has no bearing on whether charges can be filed. Depending on the circumstances, striking another person can lead to misdemeanor or felony charges, jail or prison time, fines, and a permanent criminal record.
What Counts as Hitting Under the Law
Every state criminalizes two closely related acts: assault and battery. People use the words interchangeably, but they describe different things. Assault covers the threat or attempt to harm someone when you have the apparent ability to follow through. Battery is the actual unwanted physical contact. You can be charged with assault even if you never land a blow, as long as your actions would make a reasonable person fear an imminent hit.
Battery does not require a visible injury. Any unwanted contact that is harmful or offensive qualifies. Shoving, slapping, grabbing an arm, or spitting on someone can all support a battery charge. A few states merge assault and battery into a single offense, but the underlying rule is the same everywhere: you cannot threaten or carry out physical violence against another person.
When the violence causes serious harm, the charge gets upgraded. Aggravated assault or aggravated battery usually applies when the attack involves a weapon, produces broken bones or lasting disfigurement, or targets a particularly vulnerable victim. These upgraded charges are felonies in every state.
Why Gender Does Not Change the Charge
Assault and battery statutes do not distinguish between male and female victims. A person who strikes a girl or woman faces the same charges, the same trial process, and the same sentencing ranges as someone who strikes a man. The law protects bodily autonomy regardless of the victim’s sex, age, or relationship to the attacker.
Social norms sometimes create the impression that hitting a woman is “more illegal” than hitting a man. That is not how the statutes work. What actually changes the severity of the charge is the degree of injury inflicted, whether a weapon was used, and whether the attacker and victim have a domestic relationship. Those factors matter far more than gender.
Self-Defense Is the Main Exception
The one scenario where striking someone may be legally justified is self-defense. Every state recognizes some version of this principle, but the requirements are strict. You generally must show four things: you faced an imminent physical threat, you did not start the confrontation, the force you used was proportional to the threat, and a reasonable person in your position would have felt the same need to act. Miss any one element and the defense collapses.
Proportional force is where most self-defense claims fall apart. If someone shoves you and you respond by breaking their jaw, a jury is unlikely to view that as proportional. The law expects you to use the minimum force necessary to stop the threat. Deadly force is reserved for situations where you reasonably believe you face death or serious bodily injury.
Roughly 31 states have stand-your-ground laws that eliminate the duty to retreat before using force in any place you are legally allowed to be. The remaining states follow a duty-to-retreat rule, meaning you must try to withdraw safely before resorting to physical force. Nearly every state exempts your own home under the castle doctrine. Either way, the proportionality and reasonableness requirements still apply.
Penalties for Assault and Battery
Simple assault or battery is typically a misdemeanor. Penalties vary by state, but most jurisdictions impose up to six months or one year in a county jail, plus fines that range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. Some states classify very minor incidents as infractions carrying only a fine. Under federal law, simple assault within federal jurisdiction is punishable by up to six months in jail, while assault by striking or wounding carries up to one year.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 113 – Assaults Within Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction
When serious bodily injury results, the charge escalates to a felony. State felony sentences for aggravated assault generally range from two to twenty years in prison depending on the severity of the injury and the defendant’s criminal history. At the federal level, assault resulting in serious bodily injury carries up to ten years, and assault against a spouse or intimate partner causing substantial injury carries up to five years.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 113 – Assaults Within Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction
Domestic Relationships Make It Worse
When the person you hit is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, dating partner, or the parent of your child, the same punch that would otherwise be simple battery often gets charged as domestic violence. Legislators built this classification around the power dynamics and recurring nature of violence within intimate relationships. About half of all states have mandatory arrest laws for domestic violence calls, so the responding officer has no discretion to let you off with a warning.
Domestic violence charges carry enhanced penalties in most states, including longer jail sentences, mandatory completion of a batterer’s intervention program (often 26 to 52 weeks), and court-issued protective orders that bar you from contacting the victim or returning to a shared home. Violating a protective order is a separate criminal offense that can land you back in jail immediately.
Federal law adds another layer. If you cross state lines intending to injure an intimate partner and then commit violence, you face federal prosecution under the Violence Against Women Act, with penalties scaling from five years up to life depending on the harm caused.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261 – Interstate Domestic Violence
The Victim Can Sue You Separately
Criminal charges are not the only consequence. The person you hit can file a civil lawsuit for battery, and the standard of proof is lower than in criminal court. In a criminal case the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil suit the victim only needs to show it is more likely than not that you committed the act.
A successful civil battery claim can result in compensatory damages covering medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and therapy costs. If the attack was egregious, the court may add punitive damages. A criminal acquittal does not prevent a civil lawsuit. These are separate proceedings, and plenty of defendants who avoided criminal conviction have lost substantial sums in civil court.
If the Person Hitting Is a Minor
Minors who commit assault or battery are generally handled through the juvenile justice system rather than adult criminal court. Juvenile courts focus on rehabilitation, so the outcomes look different: probation, community service, counseling, restitution, or placement in a juvenile facility. A juvenile typically cannot be sentenced to adult prison.
That protection has limits. For serious or violent offenses, most states allow prosecutors to petition for a juvenile to be tried as an adult, particularly when the minor is 15 or older and the injuries are severe. Being tried as an adult means adult sentencing rules apply. Even within the juvenile system, an assault adjudication can affect college applications, military eligibility, and future background checks.
Consequences That Outlast the Sentence
The fallout from a conviction extends well past any jail time served. A misdemeanor assault or battery conviction creates a criminal record that shows up on background checks for years. Employers routinely screen for violent offenses. Housing applications, professional licensing boards, and college admissions may all treat an assault conviction as disqualifying.
A domestic violence conviction, even a misdemeanor, triggers a federal firearms ban. Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(9), anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is prohibited from possessing or purchasing firearms or ammunition.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The ban is permanent under federal law and applies regardless of whether the state considers the offense minor. For anyone who owns firearms, hunts, or works in law enforcement or security, this consequence alone can reshape a life.
Courts also commonly impose probation conditions that linger for months or years after sentencing: mandatory anger management or batterer’s intervention classes, drug and alcohol testing, community service, and no-contact orders. Violating any of these conditions can push the court to revoke probation and impose the original jail sentence. Add up fines, program fees, lost income, and attorney costs, and the total frequently runs into the thousands even for a misdemeanor.