There is one thing that unites every female MSP in the Scottish Parliament, no matter which party we represent.

Each and every one of us has been on the receiving end of abhorrent abuse, especially online where nasty individuals feel emboldened to launch bitter personal attacks, protected by the anonymity that social media provides.

My own Facebook and Twitter channels have been bombarded by disgusting abuse. There have been days where it seems all I am doing is blocking or muting people for throwing out some things that I'm sure they would never say in public.

But it can take a more sinister turn too. I have had menacing messages telling me they knew exactly where I was.

Police Scotland have had to get involved. Holyrood officials told me I should use different routes to go to work and shouldn't be out alone. Security teams have said to hold meetings in as public an area as possible.

None of it makes you feel safe or secure. It can be terrifying. At times, you wonder what possesses people to threaten another human being like this.

There is a level of criticism that you expect in politicians. We all understand it can be a rough game.

But when the messages turn violent, with threats to your safety, that's a totally different story.

It doesn't make female politicians want to keep doing the job and, which is really depressing, I'm sure it prevents many talented women from ever putting themselves forward.

In recent years, we've been lucky that more women are standing for election. But I fear that unless we do better as a society to stamp out this toxic undercurrent to politics, those positive and progressive moves towards 50-50 male-female representation will slide backwards.

Annie Wells is Scottish Conservative MSP for Glasgow