Eliciting a clear disclosure from child complainants of sexual abuse, early in the investigation, is crucial for successful prosecution. Interviewers find it difficult to elicit these disclosures in a way that minimises their influence on responding, whilst providing the child with an appropriate level of assistance. The question techniques employed by investigative interviewers can have a major impact on the responses children provide. It is well-established that how questions are phrased influence the amount and accuracy of detail elicited from child witnesses who have made a disclosure. However, little is known about the best prompts or questions to encourage children to initially disclose their experience of alleged abuse in an investigative interview. The present thesis aims to investigate the best verbal strategies for eliciting a clear and timely disclosure of abuse from children. [...]