Victorian Reason Party MP Fiona Patten is removing herself from social media after what she has labelled "appalling abuse" from "anonymous cowards".
Ms Patten said she and her office would be taking a break from social media for a few weeks, but may leave social media platforms permanently.
The move comes after a Queensland man was last week handed a suspended sentence over a video in which he threatened to shave the head of the Victorian MP and drag her "up the street naked" for supporting COVID-19 laws.
In a statement, Ms Patten said social media could be a "wonderful crucible of creativity and civilisation, of genuine progress."
"But it can also be a cesspit of bastardry, where people for some reason write things they would never say to someone's face."
Speaking on radio this morning, Ms Patten said she was concerned for the mental wellbeing of her staff who had to deal with a lot of the abuse directed at the MP.
"It's so grubby, misogynistic, violent, aggressive, now I've got staff members up at all hours of the evening just shuffling trolls off our Facebook page and off our Twitter feeds," she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
Ms Patten said her office was evaluating how best to communicate with the broader community, and that may or may not include social media platforms.
"There are better ways for me to communicate and be communicated to," she said.
Premier Daniel Andrews said it was unfortunate that Ms Patten needed to leave social media.
"It’s a great shame that any member of Parliament needs to retreat from a really effective way of communicating with people because of the way she’s been treated on there. It’s wrong," he said.
Former Victorian minister Bronwyn Pike sympathised with Ms Patten, saying the social media environment had "gone on steroids" during lockdown.
"I'm not at all surprised that in this kind of frustrating cauldron that people are finding themselves that people are behaving inappropriately, looking for outlets."
"A lot of that manifests itself in inappropriate, angry behaviour directed often at people who don't deserve it."
A parliamentary inquiry last month warned social media giants must do more to rein in fake accounts, noting the abuse of MPs and journalists risked polluting political debate and discouraging women from being involved.
