In the dark

This month's Milwaukee Magazine is on newsstands now, and includes an illustration I did for an article on the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The story explains how the law requires states to keep track of sexual abuse and rape allegations. And although numbers of reports have increased, investigators are still in the dark about the issue, because many incidents remain difficult to substantiate.

So how do you illustrate "prison rape?" I knew it was going to be an interesting story and was excited to be on board, but I was a little panicked about how to tastefully convey the concept. I didn't want the image to come off as cheesy or funny, by relying on something akin to "don't drop the soap." Two hands holding cell bars is pretty instantly recognizable as relating to prison, and two more hands on the outside of the first pair worked well to suggest something more going on. Showing only the hands and nothing else inside the cell also helped to reinforce the idea of investigators not knowing what's really going on with regard to the allegations.
Thank you, Krista!