Paris Hilton Reveals Heartbreaking Details About 'Sex Abuse' While Testifying in Front of Congress

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of child and sexual abuse that may disturb some readers.

Paris Hilton has been advocating for better youth care laws in the facilities for quite some time now and recently, on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, the TV personality testified before Congress at a hearing to strengthen child laws, citing her own 'inhumane' experience as a teenager at the hands of the staff. 

The 43-year-old narrated her own abuse story before Congress, which included being 'force-fed' medications and 'sexual misconduct' by the staff. Hilton opened up on the mistreatment she received across four for-profit youth centers, one of which was The Provo Canyon School, which has recently gained a bad reputation for rampant abuse cases, per The Daily Beast. 

Hilton recalled, "When I was 16 years old, I was ripped from my bed in the middle of the night and transported across state lines to the first of four youth residential treatment facilities," noting that she didn't enter these centers via the foster care system but her parents had been oblivious about the abuse she was undergoing throughout her stay there. 

"These programs promised healing, growth, and support, but instead did not allow me to speak, move freely, or even look out a window for two years. I was force-fed medications and sexually abused by the staff," she continued. "I was violently restrained and dragged down hallways, stripped naked, and thrown into solitary confinement. Can you only imagine the experience for youth who are placed by the state and don't have people regularly checking in on them?"

Back in 2021, Hilton highlighted inhumane practices inside these childcare facilities in the US Capitol and demanded to government to seek accountability for such actions. Previously, she candidly spoke about her haunting past in a documentary dedicated to her life This is Paris released in 2020, as per BBC. 

She detailed her story in front of the lawmakers and pushed members of Congress and President Joe Biden to turn the Accountability for Congregate Care Act into a law. "My parents were promised that tough love would fix me and that sending me across the country was the only way," recalling multiple sleepless nights stemming from the nightmares she experienced due to years of abuse. 

"I wish I could tell you that what I experienced was unique or even rare - but sadly it's not," Hilton reiterated. "Every day in America, children in congregate care settings are being physically, emotionally, and sexually abused. Children are even dying at the hands of those responsible for their care." 

During her recent visit, she pushed Congress for the same cause telling them how she was moved by the stories of "innocent kids who have not committed crimes, kids whose parents didn't have resources to support them, kids whose parents passed away—kids who have already experienced trauma... This $23 billion-a-year industry sees this population as dollar sign," she concluded by saying these facilities are a "life or death responsibility." 

SEXUAL ASSAULT: If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)

CHILD ABUSE: If you know of any children who are being subjected to abuse, please contact The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at (800) 422-4453