What term describes the act of touching a person's body without their consent?

The term that accurately describes the act of touching a person's body without their consent is battery. Battery refers to the intentional and unlawful physical contact with another person. This can include a wide range of actions, from minor physical interactions to more severe instances of harm. In a legal context, battery does not require that the person sustaining the contact feels threatened or harmed; the key factor is that consent was not given for the touch to occur.

Assault, while it often accompanies battery, refers more to the act of creating apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. Negligence pertains to failing to take reasonable precautions, leading to harm, and malpractice specifically applies to professional misconduct, typically in healthcare settings. Thus, battery is the precise term used to define unauthorized contact.