Almost all female MSPs targeted by online abuse, survey finds

Almost all female MSPs have experienced online abuse, a survey conducted by Holyrood has found.

This includes rape threats, death threats and severe misogynistic abuse.

Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy revealed she had been called a “paedophile’s wet dream” in one instance, while Tory MSP Annie Wells told Holyrood she had been told she’d be “set alight”.

More than three-quarters of the female MSPs who responded to the survey agreed abuse had become worse since they were first elected.

Duncan-Glancy said online abuse had been “utterly relentless”, and she had been called “poisoned dwarf”, “witch” and “lying c***”.

The passage of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill saw a major uptick in abuse, with MSPs on both sides of that debate targeted for their views.

“Someone on Twitter said I was a ‘paedophile’s wet dream’ because I’m small and skinny”, Duncan-Glancy told Holyrood.

Holyrood sent the survey to all 59 sitting female MSPs and received 22 responses from across the parliament. The poll was conducted between 29 January and 25 February.

Out of the respondents standing for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, around three-quarters expect hateful content to increase between now and then.

Several MSPs admitted they had considered stepping down due to the extent of the harassment they face online. SNP MSP Elena Whitham – who has confirmed she is not seeking re-election next year – said harassment “definitely plays a big part” in that decision.

More than half of the MSPs said they had also been targeted by misinformation. 

Jackie Ballie, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, labelled social media a “sewer” which was “worse for female politicians”.

And Alba MSP Ash Regan expressed concern that abuse towards female politicians had becoming “more socially acceptable” and was being “left ignored”.

A pilot programme to monitor MSPs’ social media last year revealed hundreds of posts were abusive and threatening, with some passed to Police Scotland.

Two people have since been convicted of abuse using information gained via the scheme. One was admonished, while the other received a community payback order.

The scheme found that while more abuse had been directed towards male MSPs, the abuse targeted at their female counterparts was often “belittling or of a personal nature”.