A leaked screenshot of Navy domestic violence training that refers to “traditional gender roles” as male privilege has caused a firestorm of controversy over the past week.
Posted on Reddit, the training notes that, “Though many male abusers deny that “male privilege” exists, society has [been] reinforcing inequality between the sexes for centuries, ranging from unequal job opportunities to more subtle forms of sexism in the workplace.”
The training then continues on to its more inflammatory element by stating that abusers take advantage of male privilege by “insisting on traditional gender roles,” a point that was lumped in with other examples like “treating partner like a servant” and “acting like a king.”
The post immediately caused so much controversy that a moderator had to lock it down post-haste, but not before dozens of users slammed the training.
“Who signs off on this shit?” one user asked.
“I was considering joining the Navy, to get away from all this sjw crap in college and to serve my country, but this makes me have second thoughts. Is it that bad or this just a one off kinda thing?” another user asked.
The Navy confirmed to The Daily Caller News Foundation that the screenshot of the training is in fact genuine and comes from the Domestic Violence Prevention and Response training lesson that was created in 2009.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kate Meadows, public affairs officer for Naval Education & Training Command, told TheDCNF that the training in question was updated in July 2016.
“The attached slide /description of “male privilege” is in fact in the Navy’s General Military Training lesson on Domestic Violence Prevention and Response,” Meadows told TheDCNF. “It’s presented as one of eight potential “tactics” used by abusers. It is not meant to imply that it’s a primary factor in all domestic violence cases or a stereotype of males in the Navy.”
“Additionally, although the majority of domestic violence cases continue to be perpetrated by males against female victims, this training does reinforce the fact that domestic violence and abuse can be perpetrated by females against males as well as within same sex relationships,” Meadows added.
The training lesson is part of Navy Command Assigned Readiness Enhanced (CARE) topics and is accessible via multiple formats—for example, in a classroom, or on a sailor’s computer, or through an app.
“Navy CARE training allows commands triads to prioritize and customize training delivery. (it is up to the command when and how often their command needs to conduct training on these topics),” Meadows said.
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