AN SNP MSP says she has received death threats after a tweet warning that paedophiles and predators don't present as "faceless and nameless" monsters, but are simply "people who abuse".
Karen Adam, who was elected to represent Banffshire and Buchan Coast at last year’s election, said on Twitter after the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell that abusers are not “Mac wearing flashers in the street” but “our family, friends and colleagues”.
She added: “It’s uncomfortable to humanise them because we then have to face the horrors in plain sight.”
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Some critics, including Alba Party general secretary Chris McEleny, claimed the post was an attempt to humanise those who abuse children – something the MSP firmly rejected.
Responding to attacks, Adam told her followers: "This is something that I wished I didn’t have to do but in the course of a few days a tweet I put out has gained a lot of attention, much of which was well received and understood, however, many have deliberately misrepresented my words. So now I’d like to bring clarity.
"I myself am a survivor of child sexual assault. I have also been open about my experience as a mother of my daughters abuse at the hands of a family member. To anyone denying or dismissing the fact that these predators are anything but people who walk among us who go under cover as ‘respectable’ only enable these people to go unnoticed.
"I have never seen a conviction or justice for what happened in my family because of attitudes of othering the real monsters who walk among us."
She added: "I will not be silenced or ashamed of somebody else’s actions."
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On Monday, in a tweet posted just after 3am, Adam said she had received death threats as a result of her original tweet and signalled she could pursue legal action.
“Can’t sleep, not eaten. I’m worried for mine and my families safety after I was just told my personal details are now being shared,” she said.
“Death threats, vile abuse, told to kill myself. Told I’d be put through a wood chipper.
“Grateful for litigation advice. I’m off for a wee bit.”
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