MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE 81 mulated in a manner that could limit or influence how the person responds to them. Visitors should use open-ended questions rather than leading questions. Depending on the languages spoken by detainee, it might be necessary for the visiting team to be accompanied by an interpreter. The visiting team should beware of interpreters being drawn into the conversation and should avoid using local persons, co-detainees or families members rather than professional interpreters, unless absolutely necessary. The interpreter should be reminded of the duty to respect confidentiality. It will improve the work of the interpreter if a glossary of specific terms is made available in advance. The gender composition of the visiting team is especially important for interviews in private. In cases of allegations of rape, sexual abuse and other violence, the victims, male or female, may wish to choose the sex of their interlocutor (see Chapter IV, Torture and illtreatment). In the vast majority of cases, the visitors will have to choose a limited number of persons with whom to talk. Those selected should be as representative as possible of the different categories of detainees at the site. Visitors should take care to talk not just to those individuals who seek contact with them or to those proposed by staff. Casual conversation with detainees and staff should be viewed as an essential part of building confidence and gathering information. 4.4.2 Group talk Conducting group talks allows a visiting team to be in contact with more detainees, but tends to exclude the possibility of covering the most sensitive issues. Group talks are useful for identifying common problems, spotting informal leaders, getting a sense of the mood or culture and determining whom to interview separately.