Several US military branches are pausing training in connection with the prevention of sexual attacks to comply with one of President Trump's executive regulations in connection with initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusion.
A guideline published on Tuesday by the US headquarters of the Marine Corps “asked the fleet to pause all training courses (sexual assault and reporting) too loudly by an e -mail received by the Times.
The US navy also confirmed that it would set such training for a certain period of time.
“The Navy is working to fully carry out and implement all the guidelines described by the President in the executive regulations described by the President to ensure that they are carried out with extreme professionalism, efficiency and in accordance with the national security goals,” says an official navy declaration.
A military officer who spoke for fear of reprisals on the condition of anonymity also confirmed the political change within the Marine Corps compared to the time. Inquiries about the Ministry of Department, the US Army, the Coast Guard and the Air Force were not returned immediately. Details of the change in training policy were Registered for the first time by Business Insider on Thursday.
“We see that many things happen very quickly that are not well thought out,” said Elisa Cardnell, CEO of the service Women's Action Network, an advocacy organization for women in the armed forces. “It is very worrying.”
It was not immediately clear that Trump's efforts to extinguish diversity initiatives in the federal government required a break over the decades of struggle of the military to reduce the prevalence of sexual attacks within the armed forces.
The now frozen training types include lessons that concentrate on the type of consent and sexual harassment, as well as instructions on secure reporting on abuse within the military, according to the military officer, who spoke about the condition of anonymity.
The training program for sexual assault and reporting was launched in 2005 and, according to the website of the program, applies “The central authority, which is charged with the prevention of sexual attacks in the military”.
Since its foundation, the number of reported sexual attacks within the armed forces increased dramatically. According to the military records, there were around 1,700 reported sexual assault in the armed forces in the 2004 financial year. This number rose to 8,515 in the 2023 financial year.
The break narrowly focuses on training programs and would not influence the resources for survivors of military sexual trauma or for those who report or strive for sexual violence, as the explanation made by the navy can be seen.
However, the email checked by the Times did not contain an end point for the “break”, and the official who spoke to Times described it as “opened”. Propose worried that the move can hold survivors from being forwarded.
“It is already a stigma to report sexual assault,” said Cardnell. “Every time you take away the possibilities for people, add additional stigma, or you only make it a women's problem.
She found that 7% of women in the military and 1.3% of their male colleagues reported sexual assault in 2023, for which data are available.
The military officer, who spoke to Times, also expressed a similar concern about the break and added that alarm was strengthened by Pete Hegseth as Minister of Defense by Trump after Trump's appointment.
“If she is accused of sexually harassing and sexually attacking the person responsible for the DOD, he will probably have opinions on such guidelines,” said the official.
A woman accused Hegseth of attacking her in a hotel room in Monterey, California in 2017, according to a police report that was published last year.
“Managers set the tone,” said Cardnell.