Paris Hilton Testifies Before Congress About Childhood Abuse
Paris Hilton hasn’t given up on her advocacy for kids and teens living in allegedly abusive youth treatment facilities. On Wednesday, the reality star testified before Congress at a hearing for strengthening child welfare, telling lawmakers about the “inhumane treatment” she experienced at youth facilities as a teen, including being “force-fed medication” and being “sexually abused by the staff.”
Hilton has long been an advocate for an overhaul of for-profit youth centers; in 2020, she shared her own horrific experiences as a teen at four such centers. The worst of them, Hilton has said, was The Provo Canyon School, which has come under fire in recent years for rampant alleged abuse. Hilton wrote in her 2023 memoir Paris that being sent to Provo was seen as a threat because of the center’s reputation. Since the Provo school is now operated under different management than when Hilton attended, it has not commented on her experiences, according to Axios.
Hilton said on Wednesday that although she didn’t enter the facility via the foster care system, she was still subject to abuse, as her parents were “completely deceived, lied to, and manipulated” about what was really happening to her there.