 What the victim was doing at the time (e.g. crimes against humanity as defined in the statute of the ICC are conducted against civilians, so if the victim is a civilian, she/he should explain that)  What happened and how it happened – there may be a need to have a local person to decode the language and the victim’s choice of words, particularly if she is relating sexual violence.  Witness statements may be supported by factual documents such as police or prosecutors’ reports, hospital records, detailing the physical and psychological injuries suffered by the victim and the treatment that the victim received, photographs of injuries, video recordings of the crime/injuries suffered.  NGO or UN reports or other secondary reports may also support the factual evidence and offer useful historical analysis of conflict in a particular region as well as corroborate a witness’ timeline of events. These may also assist the court, for example, in identifying particular cultural practices, which may be relevant to the interpretation of the crimes. B) Other evidence 7.3  Reports and/or witness statements by third party observers are useful to corroborate a victim’s timeline of events.  Reports and/or testimony from a doctor can help to prove the physical and psychological injuries suffered by the victim and the likely future effect of that harm on the victim.  Testimony from an expert as to particular customs within a certain community may be useful to explain to the judges from an objective standpoint the relevant issue.  Testimony as to economic data may be required if, for example, a victim alleges that he/she can no longer work as a result of the harm suffered and that this has caused financial loss.  Testimony from a gender expert as to the meaning and import of the victims choice of words to relate sexual violence, how the victim perceives the violence, its social impact and the life-long consequences on her. Litigation strategies 7.3.1 Domestic litigation strategies These are discussed in Section 2. However, for any given case of sexual violence, the strategies that may be engaged are often based on the following:  The priorities of the victim/survivor and her needs and aspirations about justice: In countries where the victim/survivor has an option, she may choose a civil option that may provide her compensation or other forms of reparation instead of (or in addition to) a criminal prosecution. It may be that the knowledge of the crime of sexual violence triggers investigation and prosecution where the victims have no say except as a witness. The victim/survivor may choose a speedy justice process and opt for making a submission before the national human rights commission or other quasi-legal mechanism with powers to provide compensatory awards. 74 7. LITIGATION AND ADVOCACY STRATEGIES | REDRESS