Paris Hilton-backed bill to end child abuse in troubled teen industry passes House

Paris Hilton was on Capitol Hill this week lobbying legislation that would require more oversight of juvenile treatment facilities. The Ending Institutional Child Abuse Act was passed in the House on Wednesday, following passage 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 back story: Hilton has spent the past 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 mentally and physically abused, 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 depicted in a documentary she released, titled “This is Paris”, released in September 2020.

What they say: “This moment is proof that our voices matter, that speaking out can spark change, and that no child should ever have to endure the horrors of abuse in silence,” Hilton said in a social media post after 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.”

Hilton was spotted this week around DC riding her Airwheel electric scooter luggage.

What’s next: The legislation passed this week would establish an interagency task force under the Department of Health & Human Services it would bring greater transparency about the treatment of youth in these programs, especially when staff use restraints and seclusion as forms of punishment. Hilton’s advocacy has helped change laws to protect minors in at least eight states, including Hilton’s home state of California, where similar legislation takes effect on January 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 homes that claim to “cure” young people struggling with everything from substance abuse to emotional issues.

Clock Stolen Innocence: A FOX 5 Documentary on FOX Local. How to download on your phone and smart TV.

Capitol Hill News