The 3 differences between insults and slander: how to distinguish them?

The words "insult" and "slander" are very often used as synonyms since both refer to acts that violate someone's honor and incur a crime.

However, although they are often used in the same environments, they are not the same. Some are the peculiarities and legal consequences of the act of insulting and slandering, so it is not appropriate to use them interchangeably.

Next Let's see what are the differences between insults and slander, in addition to understanding more thoroughly what these two words mean.

• Related article: "The 11 types of violence (and the different kinds of aggression)"

The main differences between insults and slander

It is common to hear on television sets, in the press and on the radio two words that, having become popular almost at the same time, many believe to be synonymous: insults and slander. According to the Spanish Penal Code, both refer to acts constituting a criminal offence, that is, they are criminal acts. However, in the media, increasingly judicialized environments, these two terms are used erroneously from a technical-legal language perspective.

Insult and slander are not the same. There are some legal differences and terminological nuances that make it more appropriate to use one word or the other. Before going deeper into the main differences between these two terms, we are going to see the extensive definition of what is an insult and what is a slander, in addition to giving some examples.

What is an injury?

An insult is any expression that consists of imputing false acts to someone and that violate their dignity. That is to say, they are objectively offensive actions that damage the reputation of the person being attacked and, furthermore, the person doing the insult knows that what he is saying is not true or has a harmful nature. That is to say, an injury is an intentional action that intends to attack the honor of the injured person, attributing conduct that, socially, is interpreted as unworthy or immoral, but not criminal.

Examples of injuries are insults, as long as they are said with the clear intention of discrediting someone. This insult must affect the honor of the injured person and be serious enough for her to denounce it, in addition, there must be evidence that the person who has done the insult has said it with the clear intention of attacking the reputation of the injured party.

Another example of insult, especially common on heart sets, is to affirm that someone has been unfaithful to her partner knowing that it is not true. Being unfaithful is not a crime, but it is an act that is socially considered morally questionable, causing the person to whom it has been attributed to lose reputation or receive a negative opinion from the society. For this reason, the person who has received the injury can denounce the person who attacks him because it puts him at risk of losing his partner or that society sees him as a promiscuous person. Types of injuries

In the Spanish Penal Code, injuries are regulated by articles 208 et seq.. The code speaks of two types of injuries depending on the publicity that has been made:

On the one hand, we have “normal” insults, which would simply be the act of insulting, that is, attributing someone to have committed a morally questionable act at a given time and context.

On the other hand, we have those of an aggravated type, injuries that are considered serious because whoever has done them has not only damaged the honor of the injured party, but it has also promoted this false statement using different means, such as social networks, television, the newspaper...

• You may be interested in: "Mobbing: psychological harassment at work"

What is a slander?

A slander is the action of falsely attributing someone to have committed a crime. That is to say, slandering consists of affirming that a person has committed a crime knowing that he has not done so with the sole intention of harming them both socially and legally. On the one hand, the honor and reputation of the slandered person is undermined, generating in public opinion the idea that he is not respectful of the law, while on the other it is affirmed that he has committed a crime, causing the authorities to investigate him and treat him as a suspect or defendant until it is proven that the crime has not been committed task.

A clear example of slander is denouncing that a politician has stolen from the state coffers to pay for a chalet. This type of affirmation can generate a negative opinion both in his colleagues in the party and in the opposition, causing him to run the risk of losing his party membership card or being forced to resign from the charge of him. In addition, you can be disqualified from taking a position in any public office during the time in which you are being investigated.

Types of slander

Slander is regulated in articles 205 and following of the Penal Code. As with insults, there are two types of slander depending on the publicity that is received. do: the normal ones, in which a crime is simply attributed to someone without giving it too much length social, and the aggravated ones, in which there is promotion of that statement by different media platforms.

What is the main difference between insult and slander?

The main difference between insults and slander is the type of content of the false claims that are made of the person attacked.

Both acts are legally punishable, however, what is said in them has different social and legal repercussions for the victim. While a slander involves making something morally questionable about the person injured, a slander it goes further, attributing the commission of a crime and, therefore, causing it to have to be investigated.

Insults and slander are crimes, however, the line between insult and insult or slander is quite subjective. For this reason, the Penal Code of Spain classifies insults and slander with the intention of specifying which situations involve an attack against the honor and dignity of the injured or slandered person, trying to distinguish them from those that are merely insults empty of real damage, such as calling a person "asshole" or "bastard".

What to do if we feel insulted or slandered?

Based on what we have said, a false statement is an insult or a slander when what is said attempts against our honor and dignity, whether we are accused of having committed a moral offense or a crime legal. As we said, the line between insult and slander and insult is somewhat subjective, since what for one it may be seen simply as a mild insult, another may consider it a genuine attack on his honor.

For this reason, In the event that we feel insulted and slandered, the first thing to do is go to a lawyer to discuss the case. and that he consider whether a crime against our honor has really been committed. If, for example, there are no clear signs that the person who has attacked us has done so with the intention of violating our honor, there will be no crime.

In case there is one, what the lawyer does first is to write a document so that an act of conciliation in the Court of the town where the affected person lives, this being the mandatory previous step before putting a lawsuit. The conciliation act intends for both parties to reach an understanding before making the problem go further and the matter is brought to court, with its legal and economic repercussions for both parties.

If it is considered that there has been insult or slander and there is no act of conciliation, the punishment or penalty for whoever has attacked the whistleblower varies depending on the content of the false statement and how far it has gone arrived. For example, for a normal injury, that is, one that has not been publicized, the punishment can be a fine of six months, while for serious slander, attributing a crime and making it public, there may be a prison sentence of two years.

Bibliographic references:

• Lopez, N. (2017). These are the differences between an insult and a slander. legalitas
• Sot-Torres, D. (2014). Basic legal culture: Difference between libel and slander and demand and complaint. aob lawyers.
• Gago, L. (2019). What are the differences between insults and slander. Lawyers Gaia.