15
Rape myths can affect jurors’ perceptions of sexual assault, and that needs to change.
(theconversation.com)
rated the victim’s testimony more truthful if they reported the sexual assault immediately, compared to delayed reporting.
Does this not apply to all crimes, to some degree? Seems obvious that people are more likely to believe you if accuse someone of stealing from you last week, than if you accuse them of having stolen from you last year, or several years ago, for example.
For better or worse (as there are of course circumstances where a delay is justified), there's no way the average person is going to be MORE inclined to believe a delayed accusation/report is true, than an immediate one, that's for sure. I'd say the best you can hope for is for the perception to be equal, but that requires a certain level of empathy that simply does not exist in everyone.
EDIT: Went to look for the actual disparity in the cited study, but it's paywalled, lol. Gonna go out on a limb and assume it's not significant--when such a figure is significant, they definitely mention the number, instead of just saying "more". This smells sensationalist.