Research and clinical experience indicate that a substantial number of sexually abused children are told by the perpetrator not to tell and that children do not divulge secrets lightly. The legal field, however, has not yet developed a strategy to help children disclose sexual abuse incidents, and strategies developed by clinicians tend to render evidence either inadmissible or at least vulnerable to being discredited by cross-examination. When interviewing children who may have been sexually abused, it is essential to understand child development in general and cognitive and linguistic development in particular. Differences between clinical and evidential interviewing methods are noted, along with specific types of information that should be obtained by social workers and police officers when child sexual abuse may have occurred. Additional research is recommended to identify ways of helping children disclose sexual abuse incidents. 25 references