The Navy has paused sexual assault prevention and response training until further notice as the military scrambles to make sure it’s following recent executive orders, according to multiple sources familiar with the move.
The SAPR program as a whole is still functioning, and victims are still encouraged to report crimes and seek assistance. But annual sexual assault prevention training for Navy troops and civilians, as well as the effort to train people in commands to become SAPR advocates—the people who listen to victims and guides them through Navy programs for treatment and legal guidance—was halted this week with no timeline for resuming.
The Navy is “working to fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the Executive Orders issued by the President, ensuring that they are carried out with utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives,” a service spokesperson said. They declined to comment directly on the pause in SAPR training.
After President Donald Trump enacted a slew of executive orders to weed out diversity, equity, and inclusion and take out the word “gender” and replace it with “sex,” military services have been reviewing all of their training, policies, and websites to make sure that they are in accordance with the new orders—but a lack of clear guidance has led to uneven implementation across commands.
The uncertainty has led to websites being taken down and confusion around which programs are still alive. On Jan. 24, Military.com reported that the Army briefly removed its sexual harassment and assault prevention policy from its website during the rush to wipe anything DEI-related, though the policy was restored several hours later.
The DOD’s SAPR program was established in 2005 at the direction of Congress and then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The program office later established training and certification programs for Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARC) and SAPR victims advocates.
“Reports that the Navy’s sexual assault prevention and response training has been paused is extremely alarming. For years, there has been bipartisan consensus around the need to address sexual assault in our ranks, ultimately culminating in historic reforms to our military justice system. Any pause in these efforts is unacceptable and I’ve reached out to the Navy for an explanation,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
Gillibrand is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where she has led several efforts to reform how the military deters and deals with sexual assault.
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