What technique can help victims recall details without pressuring them?

• A. Rely solely on memory and skip cognitive techniques.
• B. Use memory-enhancing techniques that pressure the victim to remember.
• C. Use cognitive interviewing techniques to aid recall without pressuring; document uncertainties and corroborate with ancillary sources.
• D. Forcibly extract information through intimidation.

Answer: (C)

The technique being tested is using cognitive interviewing methods to help a victim recall details without pressuring them, while carefully recording uncertainties and seeking corroboration from other sources. This approach focuses on reducing interviewer influence and trauma-related distress while enhancing memory retrieval. By encouraging the victim to provide a free narrative, re-create the context, and consider events from different perspectives, cognitive interviewing taps into natural memory processes and tends to yield richer, more accurate details. Importantly, it avoids leading questions and allows the victim to control the pace, which helps prevent memory distortion and retraumatization.

Documenting uncertainties is part of a careful, transparent process—noting what the victim is unsure about or cannot recall—and seeking corroboration from ancillary sources (other witnesses, records, physical evidence) strengthens overall reliability. In contrast, methods that pressure the victim to remember or forcibly extract information introduce coercion and increase the risk of false memories, which can mislead investigations and harm the survivor.