Monica Lennon opened up to the Record after thug Elspeth Wood was convicted for licking her neck, grabbing her and making a sexual comment as she campaigned in her constituency.
Lennon said: "It was a violation."
The MSP decided to speak out amid a growing torrent of online abuse aimed at female politicians and increasing threats of real-world violence.
She said: "I have major concerns about the safety of women in politics.
"You only have to look at how female MSPs are treated online. The harassment and abuse is disgraceful.
"We need a major culture change to protect women because what happening just now is unacceptable."
Wood, 57, pled guilty to threatening or abusive behaviour in Hamilton days after then-prime minister Rishi Sunak called a general election in May.
Lennon and her Labour colleagues had been campaigning for their party in a town she has represented for a decade firstly as a councillor and then as MSP.
According to the court charge sheet, Wood made a sexual remark towards Lennon, placed her arms around the MSP, embraced her tightly and "repeatedly" licked her on the neck.
In an exclusive interview, the 44-year-old mum recalled the traumatic experience, saying: "I was out canvassing, knocking doors, chatting to people about their voting intentions, answering questions from constituents.
"It was a fairly normal campaign session and everything changed when there was a disgusting encounter with an individual.
"It was a situation that escalated quickly. I became very fearful and it was about trying to get out of that situation to protect myself and other people around me."
The Central Scotland MSP added: "My focus was on trying to remain calm and de-escalate the situation but there was also a very quick realisation that this could become more dangerous.
"It was unprovoked and it was not something I could have predicted. When you are an MSP, you always want to be in your local community and accessible to people. You want people to feel you are there to listen to them.
"When something happens, that link is jeopardised. It could have been a lot worse and that fear and anxiety lingers. It was a violation."
Lennon claimed troubling interactions used to be rare but now they are happening more often.
She said: "It gets me down that incidents like this and concerns over safety have become more common. Now it just feels like it is part of the job.
"I was very grateful for the advice and support from the head of security at the Scottish Parliament.
"That led to me reporting the matter to the police. Police Scotland were brilliant and there was a rapid response from them."
Monica now fears politicians are becoming more wary about campaigning and interacting with voters.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1741917540/articles/QU9vnPZDCIgv4dyGO1sys/8979119717.jpg]
She said: "People feel alienated from politics and the people who represent them.
"The only way we can overcome that feeling is if politicians are not remote.
"We can't just be sitting in our offices surrounded by staff and minders.
"We have to be able to walk the streets with confidence, but people in parliament are less confident about going into situations."
She added: "I want to be a voice for people in my community.
"That's why I stood for election in the first place and want to stand again.
"But this shouldn't be part of the job and it shouldn't be tolerated.
"If people are causing ...
Lennon said: "It was a violation."
The MSP decided to speak out amid a growing torrent of online abuse aimed at female politicians and increasing threats of real-world violence.
She said: "I have major concerns about the safety of women in politics.
"You only have to look at how female MSPs are treated online. The harassment and abuse is disgraceful.
"We need a major culture change to protect women because what happening just now is unacceptable."
Wood, 57, pled guilty to threatening or abusive behaviour in Hamilton days after then-prime minister Rishi Sunak called a general election in May.
Lennon and her Labour colleagues had been campaigning for their party in a town she has represented for a decade firstly as a councillor and then as MSP.
According to the court charge sheet, Wood made a sexual remark towards Lennon, placed her arms around the MSP, embraced her tightly and "repeatedly" licked her on the neck.
In an exclusive interview, the 44-year-old mum recalled the traumatic experience, saying: "I was out canvassing, knocking doors, chatting to people about their voting intentions, answering questions from constituents.
"It was a fairly normal campaign session and everything changed when there was a disgusting encounter with an individual.
"It was a situation that escalated quickly. I became very fearful and it was about trying to get out of that situation to protect myself and other people around me."
The Central Scotland MSP added: "My focus was on trying to remain calm and de-escalate the situation but there was also a very quick realisation that this could become more dangerous.
"It was unprovoked and it was not something I could have predicted. When you are an MSP, you always want to be in your local community and accessible to people. You want people to feel you are there to listen to them.
"When something happens, that link is jeopardised. It could have been a lot worse and that fear and anxiety lingers. It was a violation."
Lennon claimed troubling interactions used to be rare but now they are happening more often.
She said: "It gets me down that incidents like this and concerns over safety have become more common. Now it just feels like it is part of the job.
"I was very grateful for the advice and support from the head of security at the Scottish Parliament.
"That led to me reporting the matter to the police. Police Scotland were brilliant and there was a rapid response from them."
Monica now fears politicians are becoming more wary about campaigning and interacting with voters.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1741917540/articles/QU9vnPZDCIgv4dyGO1sys/8979119717.jpg]
She said: "People feel alienated from politics and the people who represent them.
"The only way we can overcome that feeling is if politicians are not remote.
"We can't just be sitting in our offices surrounded by staff and minders.
"We have to be able to walk the streets with confidence, but people in parliament are less confident about going into situations."
She added: "I want to be a voice for people in my community.
"That's why I stood for election in the first place and want to stand again.
"But this shouldn't be part of the job and it shouldn't be tolerated.
"If people are causing ...
You're reading a preview of
Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 14, 2025