Can an individual claim self-defense if they initiated the confrontation?

An individual cannot generally claim self-defense if they are the one who initiated the confrontation. Self-defense is typically based on the principle that a person has the right to protect themselves from imminent harm or threat. When a person instigates a conflict, they are often viewed as having forfeited their right to assert self-defense. This principle encourages individuals to avoid escalation and to seek resolution without resorting to violent confrontations.

In situations where a person starts a confrontation, they are not acting in a defensive manner but rather in an offensive manner, which does not meet the legal criteria for self-defense. Therefore, claiming self-defense would not be justified in this context. The only exceptions might involve sudden changes in the situation where the aggressor might genuinely find themselves in a threatening scenario, but such circumstances are tightly defined and depend on specific factors and context, which usually are not met when one has initiated the confrontation.