Battery is a willful and harmful physical contact by one person on another resulting in either bodily injury or offensive touching.  It includes a wide range of conduct such as kissing without consent, spitting, touching or tapping, jostling, and throwing water upon another.  Some courts have held that a battery need not be committed out of malice or intent to cause harm, to injure, or to inflict actual damage.  A reasonable amount of force applied with criminal negligence is sufficient to be considered battery.  It may also include indirect applications of force such as directing a dog to attack or exposing a helpless person to the inclemency of the weather.  An act of sexual abuse is a battery.  If a person fails to disclose a sexually communicable disease to the partner before intercourse, it can turn into a battery as the failure on part of the person can vitiate consent to such intercourse.