Settlements mark progress for Baylor victims

The healing continues for sexual assault victims from Baylor University.

The school and a woman who claims Baylor officials didn’t adequately respond to her sexual assault report reached a settlement Thursday.

The school has settled one of its six pending Title IX lawsuits (several lawsuits represent multiple victims) and has reached settlements with at least three victims of sexual assault who did not file lawsuits.

It’s been more than a year since the lawsuits started piling up against the university and its officials, and it’s about time we see some settlements.

The victims of these horrible crimes have a long way to go to recover. But this is a start.

It’s also a way for Baylor to make amends and move on.

At least one of the lawsuits has a trial date and that could be the case for others.

It’s smart for the school to settle.

It’s better to admit the process was flawed and mistakes were made.

As the university and those named in lawsuits — which include former employees Art Briles, Ian McCaw and Patty Crawford among others — have fought the accusations, it’s been worse for the victims in search of closure.

The settlements can help the victims move on. The money can help in a lot of ways.

Several of the victims are in therapy and counseling to move on. A handful of the documents showed that multiple victims eventually dropped out of school with mountains of debt. The money can help them solve those issues.

This is a good step, an important one.

Unfortunately, there are more lawsuits coming.

And there is regular news that serves as awful reminders of the culture that was created at Baylor. The school has worked toward making positive changes and seems to be on track to do so. But a lot of damage was done.

Last week, reports showed that Texas lobbyist Neal “Buddy” Jones described female students whom he suspected of drinking alcohol at parties as “perverted little tarts,” the “vilest and most despicable girls” and a “group of very bad apples,” according to emails he sent in 2009 while a regent at Baylor.

The victim-shaming for those who have come out with their stories has remained a major problem and is a major hang-up in letting the university move on.

Every time a handful of Baylor supporters decide to speak out and blame victims rather than show support for them and help them move on, it shows there are a lot of things that need to change.

If the victim-blaming continues, if the stigma on women who have been raped continues to be that they’ve done something wrong, the problems at Baylor (and other universities across the country) will continue.

Baylor has taken a good step in settling, and one can only hope the school is committed to helping every victim of these horrible crimes by reaching out and supporting them.

One of the recommendations from Pepper Hamilton — the law firm that found the Baylor football program acted as if it was “above the rules,” and that former football coach Briles tried to cover up sexual violence by his players and interfered with investigations — was for the school to contact victims and address their needs.

Truth continues to come out as this saga goes on.

But as some of these cases are handled and settled, hopefully the victims can start to find peace.

It won’t be easy for any of them, but admitting something was wrong and apologizing for those mistakes is a start from the university.

It is hoped these settlements mixed with Baylor’s commitment to changing its culture will help invoke positive change and ensure these horrific crimes don’t happen to more students.

This is just the beginning, but it’s a good start.