Speaking in support of a campaign to change laws that govern youth care facilities in the United States, TV star and DJ Paris Hilton spoke about the alleged abuse she suffered as a teenager .
Hilton first shared his experiences with the “struggling teen industry” in the YouTube documentary, It’s Paris.
Since its release last year, she has campaigned for the safeguard and reform of residential programs for troubled teens in the United States.
“Today I come here not as a Paris Hilton, but as a survivor”: the hotel heiress joined members of Congress on Wednesday in support of legislation to establish a bill of rights for adolescents in collective care establishments. pic.twitter.com/amoi9LSykc
– CBS News (@CBSNews) 20 October 2021
Speaking in Washington DC at an event with lawmakers and advocates on Wednesday, Hilton described how she was sent to four different establishments over a two-year period and her experiences “still haunt her to this day. “.
40 year old man Simple life The star opened up about how she believed she was kidnapped after being woken up in the middle of the night by two men entering her bedroom to take her across the country.
Hilton said: “My parents were promised that hard love would heal me and sending me across the country was the only way.”
She alleges that she was physically assaulted, forced to take medication and placed in solitary confinement in residential programs aimed at reforming adolescent bad behavior.
“I was dragged, slapped in the face, watched in the shower by male staff, called vulgar names, forced to take medication without diagnosis, not to give proper education, thrown into solitary confinement in a covered room. scratches and smeared with blood and much more. “
During his address at the U.S. Capitol, Hilton urged U.S. President Joe Biden and members of Congress to pass the Community Care Accountability Act, which would establish a national bill of rights for young people in residential facilities.
She said: “Every day in America, children in collective care facilities are physically, emotionally and sexually abused. Children even die at the hands of those responsible for their care.
“This bill creates a bill of rights that we urgently need to ensure that every child placed in collective facilities enjoys a safe and humane environment.
“This bill offers protections that were not granted to me, such as access to education, the outdoors, freedom from abusive treatment and even the fundamental right to speak and move freely.
“If I had had these rights and could have exercised them, I would have been saved from over 20 years of trauma and severe PTSD.
California Democrat Ro Khanna has said he is drafting legislation that will give children in youth facilities the right to call their parents, be free from restraints, and have access to clean water and sanitation facilities. nutritious meals – none of which are currently mandatory.
