As far as the identity of the victim is concerned, best practices differ based on the purpose of the information gathering exercise. Many organizations, in fact, do not request victims to identify themselves. However, juridical proceedings require the ability to trace someone’s identity. In order to ensure informed consent, practitioners should: 1. Take time to explain all relevant factors to victims and witnesses, by: • Identifying oneself and others present, the purpose of the interaction, and, if relevant, the organization; • Explaining in detail the purpose and nature of the informationgathering exercise, and if relevant the people on and mandate of the team; • Describing any possible uses of the information provided, including any possible disclosure of the information to third parties; • Describing the types of questions that may be asked; and • Presenting the information in a way that is clear and ensuring the information has been understood at every stage of the interaction.10 It is good practice to ask the victim/witness to explain what they have understood about the process in order to ensure that there are no misunderstandings and that the consent is properly informed. Asking victims or witnesses to repeat the process and the items relevant to informed consent in their own words ensures that the victim or witness has truly understood the message and is not simply providing what they believe to be a socially desirable answer. “Do you understand”-type questions may lead the victim or witness into a certain direction and are therefore likely to be answered in the affirmative (with a “yes”), regardless of whether the message has actually been understood. In order to determine at a later point in time whether a victim or witness did in fact provide the information with prior informed consent, it is advised to record this part of the documentation process. This recording can be done either by asking the victim or witness to read and sign a document 10 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, 45-46 (2014). 25