The law firm Pepper Hamilton, which was retained by Baylor to investigate its alleged poor handling and cover-up of sexual assault accusations, found the university's conduct code may have played a role in silencing victims.
Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press obtained the report, which says "'perceived judgmental responses' to victims who reported being raped 'created barriers' to reporting assaults."
A Baptist university, Baylor has long carried one of the strictest honor codes among United States institutions. Vertuno's report notes dancing was banned on campus until 1996, and "fornication, adultery and homosexual acts" were offenses of the code until May 2015.