A Late Attempt to Bolster the Claim? – Delay in disclosure was often described by our respondents as presenting an enormous problem with respect to credibility. Research and experience indicates that there are a wealth of good reasons for delaying a disclosure, particularly where the individual is vulnerable or the incident in question was traumatic or shameful (Bogner et al, 2007; Herlihy et al, 2002). Nonetheless, a number of our respondents whether – legal representatives, UKBA personnel, NGO workers or even some Immigration Judges were adamant that delay in disclosing a key aspect – of the asylum claim, or even delay in making the claim itself, would (and for many, should) reflect negatively on a claimant’s credibility. As one legal representative put it, for example, you’re going to have “Obviously huge credibility problems because there is absolutely no sympathy or acceptance that people won’t tell their stories straight off”. Although many respondents in this study, including some UKBA personnel, acknowledged that the substantive asylum interview was not always an environment particularly well-suited to the disclosure of rape allegations, there was nonetheless a strong presumption amongst a significant proportion of our respondents that, to be credible, such disclosures needed to be made at this stage (see further, Baillot, Cowan and Munro 2012). Indeed, some UKBA personnel and Immigration
– A Late Attempt to Bolster the Claim? Delay in disclosure was often described by our respondents as presenting an enormous problem with respect to credibility. Research and experience indicates that there are a wealth of good reasons for delaying a disclosure, particularly where the individual is vulnerable or the incident in question was traumatic or shameful (Bogner et al, 2007; Herlihy et al, 2002). Nonetheless, a number of our respondents – whether legal representatives, UKBA personnel, NGO workers or even some Immigration Judges – were adamant that delay in disclosing a key aspect of the asylum claim, or even delay in making the claim itself, would (and for many, should) reflect negatively on a claimant’s credibility. As one legal representative put it, for example, “Obviously you’re going to have huge credibility problems because there is absolutely no sympathy or acceptance that people won’t tell their stories straight off”. Although many respondents in this study, including some UKBA personnel, acknowledged that the substantive asylum interview was not always an environment particularly well-suited to the disclosure of rape allegations, there was nonetheless a strong presumption amongst a significant proportion of our respondents that, to be credible, such disclosures needed to be made at this stage (see further, Baillot, Cowan and Munro 2012). Indeed, some UKBA personnel and Immigration
Reason%20to%20Disbelieve%20-%20IJLC%20FINAL%20SUBMITTED%2022%20OCTOBER%202013.docx