Paris Hilton-backed bill to stop child abuse in troubled teen industry passes House
Paris Hilton was on Capitol Hill this week lobbying legislation that would require more oversight of youth residential treatment facilities. The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act passed in the House Wednesday after passing in the Senate last week.
The legislation will now go to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act passes House
The Backstory: Hilton has spent the last several years testifying about the abuse she says she suffered years ago at a boarding school in Utah. She was sent to Provo Canyon School for 11 months at age 17 where she says she was abused mentally and physically, recalling that staff members would beat her, force her to take unknown pills, watch her shower and send her to solitary confinement without clothes as punishment. The 43-year-old said the treatment was so "traumatizing" that she has suffered nightmares and insomnia for years.
Details of the abuse were also chronicled in a documentary she released, titled "This is Paris" that was released in September 2020.
What They're Saying: "This moment is proof that our voices matter, that speaking out can spark change, and that no child should ever endure the horrors of abuse in silence," Hilton said in an social media post following the vote. "I did this for the younger version of myself and the youth who were senselessly taken from us by the Troubled Teen industry."
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 17: Celebrity hotel heiress Paris Hilton is photographed by a member of her team as she rides an Airwheel electric scooter luggage outside the U.S. Capitol on the day the House of Representatives is set to vote on The Stop I
Hilton was spotted this week around D.C. riding her Airwheel electric scooter luggage.
What's next: The legislation passed this week would establish an interagency work group under Department of Health & Human Services that would bring greater transparency around treatment of youth in these programs, particularly when staff use restraints and seclusion rooms as forms of punishment. Hilton’s advocacy has helped changed laws to protect minors in at least eight states, including in Hilton’s home state of California, where similar legislation will go into effect on Jan. 1.
Abuse in the troubled teen industry
Local perspective: FOX 5’s Jacqueline Matter spoke earlier this year with several victims from the area who shared the horrific experiences they had within the walls of these privately-run youth residential facilities that claim to "cure" young people who struggle with everything from substance abuse to emotional problems.
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The Source: This story includes reporting from the Associated Press and previous reporting by FOX 5's Jacqueline Matter.