Sexual Harassment

SEXUAL HARASSMENT CARTOONS

Cartoon #1

"Reporting Rape"

Brenna Kelly

PUBLICATION Camel City Dispatch DATE November 25, 2014

CARTOONIST Andrew David Cox U.S.

TITLE OF CARTOON "Reporting Rape"

TONE OF CARTOON:

1. Negative
2. Framing is opposed to supporters
3. Framing is supportive of oppoenents

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

Two women are pictured holding boulders on their backs — the woman on the left holds a boulder labelled “rape victim.” The other woman is holding two boulders; one also reads, “rape victim” while the other — stacked on top, and equally as large and heavy — reads “societal victim blaming.” She is also holding a paper that says “my story” on it. She is hunched over and appears to be struggling, more than the other woman.

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

This cartoon is an example of labelling. The women are clearly labelled as rape victims. The boulders on their backs ti represent the burden that sexual assault creates for victims. If a college student had to deal with that burden because of another student, it would be difficult to walk around campus with that boulder on your back.

People sometimes picture a victim reporting a rape in torn-up clothing with bruises spotting their bodies and faces streaked with makeup. When reporting the incident to police officers, that is sometimes what it looks like. More often, the victim reports it weeks, months or even years later (Ramos, p. 23) . And on a college campus, it often happens in the Student Services Division or Title IX coordinator’s office. The two girls in the picture are dressed in clothes that college students might wear — everyday clothing. Their faces show distressed, but they are otherwise normal.

While the burden of proof in a criminal trial (which may result from reporting to law enforcement) is “beyond a reasonable doubt,” at a university there only has to be a preponderance of evidence to take action against a perpetrator — meaning it only needs to be 51% likely that the crime was committed (New, 2014).

So while it is sometimes easier to report rape to university officials, the resulting investigation, interviews and hearings can still trigger anxiety and trauma in victims (Lupkin, 2014). In many instances, there is still victim-blaming in these settings (Brooks Thistlethwaite, 2015).

If someone were to report a rape at Utah State University, the policies for Title IX allow the university to have — at most — 90 days to reach a final decision. Thirty-five days for a Title IX investigation, 10 days for the respondent and complainant to appeal, and 45 days for the university president to appoint an Affirmative Action Appeals Committee to hear the appeals and recommend a decision to the president (Utah State University Policy Manual, p. 2-3). Ninety days. Like a boulder, it’s a “burdensome” amount of time to wait. And that’s assuming the Title IX office and university are following policies.

While the cartoon doesn’t specifically say the women are college students, it’s applicable to a college setting.

Cartoon #2

"Penn State"

Brenna Kelly

PUBLICATION Cagle’s Cartoons DATE July 12, 2012

CARTOONIST Joe Heller U.S.

TITLE OF CARTOON Penn State

TONE OF CARTOON:

1. Negative
2. Framing is opposed to supporters
3. Framing is supportive of opposed

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

The cartoon is focused on the passing of California’s yes means yes sex laws. It is a representation of the California Assembly responding to critics. The cartoon is from the critic perspective. The law now requires students to get any kind of clear consent, but it does not have to be verbal.

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

The overall point of this cartoon is to show that yes means yes might wind up creating more problems than it solves.

It depicts how critics worry that colleges will fill with sexual assault cases. Most sex takes place behind closed doors and there often isn’t enough physical evidence to prove rape. Yes means yes won’t change the “he says, she says” dynamic of date rape. A guy can still easily lie and claim he received affirmative consent. Likewise, a girl could just as easily claim she never gave consent.

Rall uses different persuasive techniques to get his point across. He uses labeling to directly state things. There are three different conversation bubbles used in the cartoon. The cartoonist uses these to show a clear message and exactly what the cartoon people are saying. There is also labeling on the younger guys shirt. It says Cal, which shows that they are college students. Irony is also used through the text bubbles. The girl in the cartoon says, “This isn’t how I imagined my first kiss.” It is showing the difference between the way things are with consent and the way things should be.

The two older people in the cartoon are more concerned with the actual law and factual aspect, while the college students are more concerned with how it affects them. It is showing that although Title IX sounds good on paper, it doesn’t work as well in real life.

Cartoon #3

"The Predator's Perch"

Brenna Kelly

PUBLICATION: Green Bay Press-Gazette

DATE 7/12/15
CARTOONIST: Joe Heller U.S.
TITLE OF CARTOON: The Predator's Perch


TONE OF CARTOON:

1. Negative
2. Framing is opposed to supporters
3. Framing is opposed to opposed

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

Retired football coach and convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky is illustrated as a vulture in this cartoon. He is perched on a pile of papers, which is covered with a sheet that reads “Penn State Coverup.” We see several pages are exposed — they read, “disregard of victims,” “wilful neglect,” “fear of bad publicity,” “excuses,” “what will donors think,” “secrets,” “powerful allies,” “lies” and “ignored rumors.”

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

Earlier this year, three former Penn State administrators were charged with lying about early knowledge of Jerry Sandusky’s child sexual abuse. According to Penn Live, in 2012, Sandusky was convicted of serial child sexual abuse that “spanned multiple years and multiple victims.” It’s suspected that the three administrators — Graham Spanier, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz — knew about this and chose to cover it up (Thompson, 2015).

The cartoon is dark — Sandusky and the sheet are shadowy. The background is white, which could symbolize light and bringing issues to light. The majority of the papers, however, are hidden underneath the shadows. The cartoonist might be suggesting that the problems we can see — neglect, fear of bad publicity, excuses — are only the tip of the iceberg. There could be a lot more the campus cover-ups than we see.

While the cartoon is commentary for the Penn State cover-up, it could apply to almost any school that has mishandled a sexual assault investigation. One-hundred and six of them were being investigated by the federal government as of April 8, 2015 (Rois, 2015). For a police department to investigate a sexual assault, it’s not bad publicity — that just means they’re doing their job. For a university to have to say, “We investigated this terrible thing that happened on our campus,” it can be bad publicity.

Cartoon #4

"Rhyming Rape"

Mark Rosa

PUBLICATION Claytoonz.com DATE 11/26/2014

CARTOONIST Clay Jones U.S.

TITLE OF CARTOON Rhyming Rape

TONE OF CARTOON:

1. Negative
2. Framing is opposed to supporters
3. Framing is supportive of opposed

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

A crying woman appears before an administrative board with a text bubble saying “I was raped…” The board members reply to her with text bubbles saying, “What’d she say?” “UVA is great?” “Our basketball team is ranked?” “She wants some grapes” “We tend to procrastinate?” and “Obfuscate” repeating similar sounding phrases back to her and pretending not to hear her claim, essentially dismissing or shrugging off the comment.

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

This cartoon is an example of labelling and irony. The podium on which the board or council members sit is labeled “UVA” denoting that the incident pictured happened at the University of Virginia. Sitting atop the podium is a sign saying “administration” telling us that these people are part of the UVA university administration. The cartoon is an example of irony because the crying girl, who is a victim of rape, is being ignored and dismissed when her claims should be taken seriously and fully investigated.

The context of this cartoon is an incident that happened surrounding one woman’s allegations of sexual assault at the University of Virginia fraternity house of Phi Kappa Psi. According to an article published in Rolling Stone written by Sheila Coronel, Steve Coll and Derek Kravitz, the women who referred to herself as “Jackie” claimed she was asked to the house for a formal function, only to be lead upstairs and brutally gang raped by seven men who were being initiated into the frat. Sabrina Erdely, a journalist, was looking for a story on rape at a high profile university, was put in contact with a UVA student who referred to herself as “Jackie”. “Jackie” recounted her tale and despite a few journalistic flags being raised while reviewing the details of the story, Erdley felt comfortable with the credibility of “Jackie” and her account. Erdley developed the story and it was published in Rolling Stone magazine on December 4, 2014. Soon after its publication the articles’ credibility was called into question. One by one each aspect of Jackie’s tale was refuted and proven false. Rolling Stone quickly posted an apology to its website stating that there were "discrepancies" in the story they ran due to the fact that Erdely's main source “Jackie” was untrustworthy. The next day, Rolling Stone ran an updated apology saying the mistakes in the published article were due to unprofessional and unethical journalistic practices by Rolling Stone and was not the fault of the source. Erdely publicly apologized months later, yet she made no reference of or attempt to clear the names of those accused. (Coronel, Coll & Kravitz, 2015).

Ideologies enforced in this cartoon are that college administrations do not handle rape on campuses effectively and victims don’t usually see justice. An article published in Newsweek, by Zach Schonfeld states that a survey done by Missouri senator Claire McCaskill’s office concluded, “Roughly 40 percent of colleges and universities have not investigated an alleged on-campus rape in the past five years.” (Schonfeld, 2014). University administrations are framed as being ill-equipped, ignorant, unemotional and even cruel. Rape victims are framed as innocents that are being seriously wronged by the administrative system. This cartoon adds to the public opinion of rape victims and universities, enforcing one widely accepted view of the issue, that rape victims are always innocent and universities are always bumbling and dismissive.

Cartoon #5

"Pricey Conscience"

Erik Fox

PUBLICATION Newsday DATE November 13, 2014
CARTOONIST Matt Davies U.S.
TITLE OF CARTOON Pricey Conscience

Tone of the cartoon:

1. Negative framing of the issue
2. Framing is supportive of supporters
3. Framing is opposed to opponents

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

On the left side we see multiple rape kits. Each kit is sitting on the shelf, ignored, appearing to be gathering dust. To obtain the evidence in each kit the price tag is 500-1000 dollars. On the right the cartoonist draws a man. Lurking in the alleyways and grayed out. His shirt has the word rapist across the back. The cartoonist points out a very sad reality. The side with the rapist is labeled as free. While the evidence that could put him behind bars, not free.

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

The first thing we notice is the labeling. The boxes on the left are labeled rape kit. A price tag explaining just how much each kit is to investigate graces the front. The shelf itself is also labeled with the word untested. Signifying just how many kits go unnoticed thanks to the fee. The man on the right is labeled rapist. Giving us the context of who he is, and just what kind of a man he is. Giving the idea that one of the rape kits could very well put him behind bars.

The irony of this are the words at the top of the cartoon. On the left it says not free, while the right one reads free. Which if you were to ask anyone, should be the opposite. Giving us an insight of just how big of a problem this is. A guilty man walks free, as the evidence to put him away is too much money.

The clothing of the rapist on the right is exaggerate. He is slumping over and covered in a dark shadow, walking in an alley way. The cartoonist wanted to illustrate how dirty and degrading rapists are. He is walking around, free, while the person who was raped has to suffer more consequences then him.

While investigating a rape case DNA evidence is a crucial part to identifying the rapist. This is the reason why rape kits are so important. Each kit includes instructions and items to collect DNA samples. The more evidence the police have will increase the chances of finding them guilty. Another name they are referred to is the sexual assault forensic exam (RAINN, 2015). The sad situation today are that these rape kits are not being tested. An investigation done by USA Today found an astonishing 70,000 rape kits have gone untested (Reilly, USAToday).

Fox News reported from the years 2004-2015 about 625 kits have gone untested in Salt Lake City (Winslow, 2014). The price to test the kits is a big reason why so many are ignored. Police Stations will have to pay about $1,000 to test the rape kit (Reilly, USAToday). Under Title IX every University has a big responsibility when it comes to sexual assault. If a student reports an act of sexual assault the school must investigate. The school needs to make sure the victim feels safe on campus. This can include changing class schedules or relocating homes (Bolger, 2015). Oftentimes students do not have a clear memory of who exactly raped them or have any evidence. Educating students on rape kits and having them on campus will increase the chance of capturing the rapist.

Cartoon #6

"Rape on Campus"

Erik Fox

PUBLICATION Daryl Cagle DATE January 17, 2014
CARTOONIST John Darkow U.S.
TITLE OF CARTOON Rape on Campus

TONE OF CARTOON:

1. Negative framing of the issue
2. Framing is supportive of supporters
3. Framing is opposed to opponents

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

A female is talking on an emergency police pole on a college campus. When you use this pole it is supposed to immediately contact the police and let them know your exact position (UP Police, 2015). We can see in the back that this pole is unplugged. The female talking on the phone is getting no response. She is repeating hello, asking if anyone was there, explaining that she has been raped. She looks like she has been through a lot. Her clothes are ripped and her purse is broken. It is night time and her surroundings make her look all alone. There is no one there to help her, and the police will not be coming. Judging by her clothing the sexual assault just barley happened. She put up a fight and is attempting to contact the police. Depicting that the school could care less about what is going on.

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

The police pole is labeled emergency. With an arrow pointing exactly where to push if there is one. This girl is doing just that yet no one is responding. The word Campus is labeled across the top of the pole. Showing the reader exactly where she is. Telling the reader that colleges would rather ignore those who have been sexually assaulted.

The ironic part of this scene is that the police are not responding. In the back it is not even plugged in. Making you believe the pole is just there for show. The school wants its students to feel safe, but in reality could care less about their safety. This girl thought she was getting help, but she is still alone, not even her school will help her.

Her clothing is symbolizing the effects of rape. Her shirt and purse are ripped. Giving us the sense of just how much she fought back. The campus across the pole also symbolizes the lack of care about rape on campus. Schools will often advertise the fight to stop sexual assault. Yet, they often ignore or sweep under the rug these type of real life situations.

A study done in the year 2007 found that one in ten undergraduates have been raped (Rubenfeld, 2014). The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network otherwise known as RAINN are an anti-sexual violence organization (RAINN, 2015). They did a study and found out of 100 people who have been raped only 46 will report it to the police. Also out of that 100 only 3 rapists will suffer consequences in prison. That means 97 rapists are walking around free (RAINN, 2015).

Under Title IX if a student comes to the school who has been sexually harassed the school has to take immediate response. They must begin an investigation and make sure the victim is safe and ok (Title IX, 2015). Students should be able to trust their school. Students should be able to count on the school to bring down the rapist. However, the University of Southern California was found mislabeling sexual assault cases. Ariella Mostov was wondering why no one was contacting her about her rape case. Turns out it was because USC labeled it as “injury response” (Kingkade, 2013). At USC rape was also being labeled as personal injury or domestic dispute (Kingkade, 2013). This protected the image of USC. However, it left these students feeling alone and abandoned.

Other schools have been mishandling sexual assault claims as well. Colombia University and Barnard College have more than 20 students who have filed complaints about this (Rubenfeld, 2014). Although under Title IX each college has the responsibility to investigate every sexual assault case, many are ignored and pushed aside by the school.

Cartoon #7

“Affirmative Consent Explained”

Mark Rosa

PUBLICATION Leftycartoons.com DATE 10/9/2014

CARTOONIST Barry Deutsch U.S.

TITLE OF CARTOON Affirmative Consent Explained

TONE OF CARTOON:

1. Negative
2. Framing is opposed to supporters
3. Framing is supportive of opposed

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

This cartoon shows two men in a heated argument about affirmative consent. The man on the right is complaining about the broadly defined definition of rape that “affirmative consent” laws put in place and how the new laws and mandates will affect his chances of “hooking up” with a woman. The man on the left is vulgarly explaining how the man on the right should approach an intimate situation with regards to the new affirmative consent laws and mandates.

ANALYSIS & CONTEXT

This cartoon is an example of exaggeration. The artist exaggerates the head size of the two men, making them much larger than they naturally would be. The artist may have done this to provide himself more space to work with the men’s faces, allowing their facial expressions to be drawn with greater detail within the small space he has to work with. The other reason the author may have done this was to draw the reader’s focus to the men’s detailed facial expressions. The two men’s appearance and clothing are exaggerated to make them look like seedy college students. The man on the left in frame one has a Mohawk, tattoos, earrings, a nose ring and grungy clothes. The main on the right has a shaved head, a goatee and permanent scowl on his face. The author may have depicted these men in this way to frame them as possible perpetrators of rape.

This cartoon illustrates both sides of debate on Title IX and affirmative consent. On one side people support affirmative consent laws being mandated at universities because they build upon Title IX regulations creating defined boundaries that constitute consent. On the other side, the bills have been criticized because the boundaries they create are too broad to efficiently enforce and leaves Title IX mandated university administration boards playing a guessing game over the guilt or innocence of each party involved.

This cartoon is a reaction to laws and university mandates passed in New York and California making “Affirmative Consent”, or a yes means yes mentality, the law and standard when it comes to intimacy and investigation of sexual abuse on college campuses. The laws were created to combat sexual abuse at universities by clearly defining the legal boundaries of intimacy. According to an article published by National Public Radio written by Bill Chappell, “The law requires colleges that receive state funding to have policies covering more than a dozen situations that can arise in sexual assault or domestic violence cases, from protecting privacy to training campus officials and providing counseling for victims.” (Chappell, 2014). Chappell said, “Earlier this year, the Department of Education said it was investigating at least 55 colleges and universities for possibly violating federal law in their handling of sexual violence and harassment cases.”(Chappell, 2014).

Cartoon #8

"Party school?"


Brooke Bell

PUBLICATION: Claytoonz.com DATE 12/07/2014
CARTOONIST: Clay Jones U.S.
TITLE OF CARTOON: Party school?

TONE OF CARTOON:

1. Negative
2. Framing is opposed to supporters
3. Framing is supportive of opposers

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

This cartoon shows a male and female student reading two different magazines, with two different perspectives. The male student is reading a Playboy magazine claiming that UVA is the number one party school. The female student is reading a Rolling Stone magazine talking about rape at UVA.


ANALYSIS & CONTEXT:

This cartoon is depicting the alleged fraternity rape cases at UVA and the bungled story published by Rolling Stone. According to Kludt, the original story published by Rolling Stone writer, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, caused a national firestorm over alleged assaults. All UVA fraternities and sororities were suspended after the story was published.

Although the cartoon has some focus on the Rolling Stone story, it is also showing that rape is still a serious problem on college campuses and UVA. Men and women seem to have very different ideas and perspectives on rape and sexual assault. The male in the cartoon is reading about how UVA is a party school. He isn’t reading anything about how rape is a problem on campus and fraternities. The female student is reading a completely different story. She could be reading about how UVA fraternities and parties are prone to rape and sexual assault.

The problem with the UVA rape case is that the fraternity was accused of gang rape, although there was not any substantial evidence to support the alleged victim. Title IX protects students from rape and sexual assault. Colleges are required to protect students from sex-based discrimination, harassment, or violence.

The cartoonist uses labeling to clearly differentiate the two magazines. The male and the female students have different exaggerated physical features. The male’s smile is exaggerated and the largest physical feature on his face. He is happy and excited about attending a top party school. On the other hand, the female student’s mouth is hidden. The most exaggerated feature on her face are her eyes. She has wide eyes and seems to be worried. Their faces clearly match the magazines that they are reading.

CARTOON #9

CARTOON NAME: Yes means yes: Affirmative consent or sex contract

Brooke Bell

PUBLICATION: Los Angeles Times DATE 10/30/2014

CARTOONIST: Ted Rall U.S.

TITLE OF CARTOON: ‘Yes means yes’: Affirmative consent or sex contract

TONE OF CARTOON:

1   Negative

2   Framing is opposed to supporters

3   Framing is supportive of opposed

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

The cartoon is focused on the passing of California’s yes means yes sex laws. According to Friedman, Yes means yes in matters of sex, is a verbal or direct yes must be received. Silence or indifference aren’t consent. If you cannot tell, you have to ask. Around the time that this cartoon was published, affirmative consent became the mandated standard on college campuses in New York and California.  It is a representation of the California Assembly responding to critics. The cartoon is from the critic perspective. The law now requires students to get any kind of clear consent, but it does not have to be verbal.

ANALYSIS:

The overall point of this cartoon is to show that yes means yes might wind up creating more problems than it solves.

It depicts how critics worry that colleges will fill with sexual assault cases. Most sex takes place behind closed doors and there often isn’t enough physical evidence to prove rape. Yes means yes won’t change the “he says, she says” dynamic of date rape. A guy can still easily lie and claim he received affirmative consent. Likewise, a girl could just as easily claim she never gave consent.

Rall uses different persuasive techniques to get his point across. He uses labeling to directly state things. There are three different conversation bubbles used in the cartoon. The cartoonist uses these to show a clear message and exactly what the cartoon people are saying. There is also labeling on the younger guys shirt. It says Cal, which shows that they are college students. Irony is also used through the text bubbles. The girl in the cartoon says, “This isn’t how I imagined my first kiss.” It is showing the difference between the way things are with consent and the way things should be.

The two older people in the cartoon are more concerned with the actual law and factual aspect, while the college students are more concerned with how it affects them. It is showing that although Title IX sounds good on paper, it doesn’t work as well in real life.

CARTOON #10

CARTOON NAME: New college dating

Brooke Bell

PUBLICATION: The Columbus Dispatch DATE 9/15/2014

CARTOONIST: Nate Beeler U.S.

TITLE OF CARTOON: New college dating

TONE OF CARTOON:

Negative

Framing is opposed to supporters

Framing is supportive of opposed

What action is taking place in this cartoon?

The cartoon is about consent and Title IX. It shows how Title IX impacts college campuses and the dating scene in college. There is a guy and a girl sitting together on a college campus studying. The guy is asking the girl if she can sign a consent form for verbal and physical interaction.

ANALYSIS:

The cartoonist is trying to show that Title IX in theory is a good idea, but getting consent for every little thing can be awkward and unnecessary. It causes dating to become unnatural. According to Reyes, men and women alike do not think asking for consent is sexy. Although there are ways to make it less awkward. At the bottom of the cartoon it says, “Would you…uh…maybe…kinda…er…like to possibly…you know…um…sign and notarize this Title IX consent form for verbal and/or possibly physical interaction?” The guy feels he is obligated to get consent in case anything happens he can be protected, but getting consent can be awkward.

The cartoon is set outside on a college campus. It is interesting that the people are outside in a public place. It could be easier to ask for consent in a public place, but it is different behind closed doors. The boy and girl are also sitting a decent distance away from each other. It’s showing that they are not yet dating and things are slightly awkward between them.

The cartoonist uses the text at the bottom as a form of irony. It is showing the difference between how getting consent is perceived and how it actually is. It is suppose to just be a simple thing to get consent, but this cartoon shows how awkward it actually can be.