“Draw me everything that happened to you”: Exploring children's drawings of sexual abuse

• Drawings facilitate children's narratives in investigations.
• Drawing aids children's retrieval process for alleged abuse.
• Drawing can be a useful technique when interviewing children on experienced trauma.

The aim of the current paper is to explore the ways in which drawings facilitate children's narratives in investigative interviews regarding alleged sexual abuse. Although children often lack appropriate words or the ability to pinpoint the effects they experience, some children find drawing to be a natural, accessible language they can use for emotional expression. The use of three case studies and an analysis of children's narratives before, during and after drawing facilitated an assessment of the way in which drawing aided children's retrieval process. The discussion presents the contribution of using drawings when interviewing children about experiences of trauma.