You were with a friend at a bar when your night took an unexpected turn. A random woman approached you and slapped you for no discernible reason. You were surprised and angry, but you didn’t attack her or hit her back.
When she started to swing at you a second time, you grabbed her wrist to stop her. When she continued to try to attack, you struggled to hold her back away from you before the bar’s security guard separated you. You believe that everything you did was in self-defense. But she got bruised in the process and filed charges against you.
You felt like you were totally in the right for defending yourself, but she claimed that you had tripped her and slammed into her earlier on the dance floor. She argued that slapping you was a far cry from what you did to her You had had a few drinks and are positive that if contact had indeed occurred, it was completely inadvertent.
It’s an unfortunate truth that men are sometimes unfairly accused of assault when they are only defending themselves against someone else — especially when that other person is a woman. There is no room for sexism in the legal system, though, which is why it’s necessary for you to defend yourself if you are charged. In this case, you have the security footage, your friends’ testimonies and other supporting evidence to show that you didn’t ever interact with that woman. Despite that, you may still be charged, so it’s going to be up to you and your attorney to present proof that will lead to the charges being dismissed. Failing that, you will need to devise a viable defense strategy for the courtroom.
It is a mistake to go without a defense in situations like this. Assault convictions can be punished with anything from a $500 fine to a stint in prison. This is the right time to take steps to strongly defend your rights.