preference may differ among individuals and cannot be assumed. 155 The victim/witness may well have a preference on the gender of the interviewer. This should be respected. This aids to a feeling of being in control and to the building of a trusting relationship with those that are present at the interview. 156 It is important to prepare the interview well and with particular attention to the specific needs of victims/witnesses of sexual and genderbased violence. For example, they may need particular medical and psychological attention. If qualified, the unofficial investigator should provide this, and otherwise should refer to professional services. Ideally, organizations that are active in a conflict or post-conflict environment would have experienced and professionally trained staff available to offer counseling, medical, and other services. 157 If health care professionals are not available in the team, there are specific aid organizations that focus on these particular violations, such as local rape crisis centers, women’s organizations, and specialized human rights groups (see also Section 2.1.4 on Referring Victims/Witnesses to Professional Assistance). Appropriate medical and psychological care should be provided before any information-gathering exercise may be conducted, if informationgathering is even possible and ethical given the circumstances. Victims/witnesses may require a variety of types of care and it is good to consider this when composing the team and in preparing the interaction with 155 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Basic Standards of Best Practice on The Documentation of Sexual Violence as a Crime under International Law, 59 (2014), available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319054/PSVI_protocol_web .pdf. 156 Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Prosecution of Sexual Violence: Best Practices Manual for the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Violence Crimes in PostConflict Regions: Lessons Learned from the Office of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, 37 (2014), available at http://www.unictr.org/sites/unictr.org/files/publications/ICTR-Prosecution-of-Sexual-Violence.pdf. 157 Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Prosecution of Sexual Violence: Best Practices Manual for the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Violence Crimes in PostConflict Regions: Lessons Learned from the Office of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, 39 (2014), available at http://www.unictr.org/sites/unictr.org/files/publications/ICTR-Prosecution-of-Sexual-Violence.pdf; International Bar Association and Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Guidelines on International Human Rights Fact-Finding Visits and Reports (The Lund-London Guidelines), 3 (2009), available at http://www.ibanet.org/Document/Default.aspx?DocumentUid=D7BFB4EA-8EB6-474F-B22162F9A5E302AE. 109