Norfolk, Va. – The Navy has begun a fleet-wide stand-down on sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR) that will last through July 1st.
All Navy commands will conduct the stand down. Reserve component units and deployed personnel will also hold a stand-down starting June 10, but will have until July 22 to complete it.
“Our end state for this stand-down will be that all of our service members and civilian personnel clearly understand SAPR principles and resources,” said Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, Chief of Naval Personnel. “All personnel will understand their accountability and role in reducing with a goal of eliminating sexual assault from the Navy, fostering a command climate of dignity and respect, and upholding our core values of honor, courage and commitment.”
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The commanding officer, executive officer, and command master chief of each command will lead sailors and Navy civilian personnel in a minimum two hours of focused facilitated instruction on SAPR principles and the importance of fostering a climate of dignity and respect in the workplace.
Additionally, targeted professional ethics/standards of conduct refresher training will be conducted for recruiters, sexual assault response coordinators (SARCs) and victim advocates (VAs), which emphasizes how violations impact mission readiness.
All training center and institutional instructors, as well as personnel who are the first to interact with sexual assault victims will receive specialized refresher training.
As part of the stand-down, the Navy will conduct an active review of credentials and qualifications of recruiters, SARCs, VAs, training center and institutional instructors, recruit training center division commanders, NCIS investigators, sexual assault nurse examiners and those qualified to conduct sexual assault forensic examinations.
