Trans election candidate left ‘very scared’ after ‘harassment’
Sophie Molly has said harassment by a group of transphobes has left her ‘scared’ to be in public. (Supplied)
A trans woman who stood as an Independent candidate in general election says Independent transgender general election candidate Sophie Molly has said she feels “scared” and “anxious” in public because of the ‘harassment’ she’s faced.
Sophie Molly Molly polled 225 votes standing as an Independent in Aberdeen South – the constituency of the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn. But on the campaign trail, Molly, who continues to fight to protect trans rights, was “subjected to very threatening and transphobic messages from a group of online transphobes”.
During this time, she tells PinkNews, her private information was doxed in a bid to intimidate her and her loved ones, and the hacking of her social media escalated to in-person incidents.
On 16 July, she discovered on X/Twitter that a group had posted a video of her while she was out in Aberdeen city centre. “The purpose of filming me was to frighten and mock me. Feeling scared, I reported this to Police Scotland,” she says.
A police spokesperson told PinkNews: “We received a report of a harassment on Thursday, 18 July. There was no evidence of criminality and advice was provided.”
Molly says the incident has left her very scared and anxious when out in public.
“I’m always looking over my shoulder for fear of being followed. This is not the first time me and my loved ones have been targeted by transphobes,” she said, adding that the police advised her to install security cameras at home.
‘Life is tough because of transphobia’
“I worry about transphobia all the time. It’s hard to feel safe day-to-day with so much hostility directed at me and the trans community.
“We just want to live our lives in peace and feel safe in the community.”
Molly is calling on police to “take the concerns of minorities more seriously” and says that without that support such communities are left “feeling very vulnerable and powerless to stop the threats and harassment”.
She goes on to say: “The police need to communicate better with minority communities. Life is tough because of transphobia… [but] we remain strong and resilient.”
