Current:Home > NewsParis Hilton testifies before Congress on Capitol Hill about childhood sexual abuse-LoTradeCoin
Paris Hilton testifies before Congress on Capitol Hill about childhood sexual abuse
View Date:2024-12-23 16:50:39
Paris Hilton testified before Congress while advocating to modernize child welfare programs Wednesday.
The "Paris in Love" star and hotel heiress returned to Washington, D.C. to speak before the House Ways and Means committee about the modernization of the country's foster care system.
"When I was 16 years old, I was ripped from my bed in the middle of night and transported across state lines to the first of four residential facilities," Hilton told the congressional committee.
"For two years, I was force-fed medications and sexually abused by the staff. I was violently restrained … stripped naked, thrown in solitary confinement," she told lawmakers.
Paris Hilton shares Carter Reum weddingdetails: 'Of course, he did cry'
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Hilton said her parents, Hilton & Hyland co-founder Rick Hilton and "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Kathy Hilton, were "completely deceived, lied to and manipulated by this for-profit industry about the inhumane treatment I was experiencing."
"So, can you only imagine the experience for youth who were placed by the state and don't have people regularly checking in on them?" she said to lawmakers.
'We're all survivors':Paris Hilton alleges widespread abuse at her former school in new documentary
"This $23 billion-a-year industry sees this population as dollar signs and operates without meaningful oversight," Hilton added.
She continued: "What is more important? Protecting business profits or protecting foster youth lives?"
Hilton, who welcomed her son Phoenix with husband Carter Reum last January, said she is "here to be a voice for the children whose voices can't be heard."
"As a mom, these stories break my heart" she told congressional committee members.
Paris Hilton has long advocated in state capitols and Capitol Hill on behalf of children safety issues
In recent years, Hilton has become one of Hollywood's leading advocates on child safety issues.
In 2022, Hilton went to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers and spoke in front of the U.S. Capitol building and flanked by dozens of survivors holding posters. Through tears, she said that she wasn't ready to speak out loud about the sexual abuse she experienced, but directed others to read an USA TODAY op-ed.
In the piece, she opened up for the first time about recollections of being physically forced into complying with "sham" gynecological exams in the middle of the night.
"If we tried to protest or question anything, they said it was a bad dream," Hilton wrote in the column. "They told us to stop making things up. But looking back on these experiences as an adult woman, I can recognize these exams for what they were: the sexual assault of children."
Since first opening up about her own abuse, she has met with lawmakers in Utah and D.C., including senators and White House staff.
Paris Hilton previously addressed abuse allegations in 2020 documentary 'This Is Paris'
In her September 2020 documentary This Is Paris," Hilton leveled disturbing accusations toward a Colorado boarding school she attended as a teenager, claiming she was verbally, emotionally and physically abused and left with insomnia, anxiety and trust issues.
In the YouTube Originals documentary, Hilton alleges her tumultuous young adult years were the result of experiencing verbal, emotional and physical abuse during the 11 months she attended Provo Canyon School, a Utah boarding school for troubled teens. The trauma, she said, left her with anxiety, trust issues and insomnia.
Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Advocacy group sues Tennessee over racial requirements for medical boards
- Milwaukee police officer shot and wounded non-fatally during standoff
- Live updates | Fighting rages in southern Gaza and fears grow the war may spread in the region
- South Africa’s genocide case against Israel sets up a high-stakes legal battle at the UN’s top court
- Georgia lawmaker proposes new gun safety policies after school shooting
- 1,400-pound great white shark makes New Year's appearance off Florida coast after 34,000-mile journey
- Harvard president Claudine Gay resigns amid controversy
- NFL referee Brad Allen, crew get another national TV game after Lions-Cowboys' controversy
- Up to 20 human skulls found in man's discarded bags, home in New Mexico
- Stopping, standing on Las Vegas Strip pedestrian bridges could be a misdemeanor under new ordinance
Ranking
- Where you retire could affect your tax bill. Here's how.
- Remains of mother who vanished in 2012 found in pond near Disney World, family says
- Washington's Michael Penix Jr. dazzles in Sugar Bowl defeat of Texas: See his top plays
- The First Teaser for Vanderpump Villa Is Chic—and Dramatic—as Hell
- Harriet Tubman posthumously named a general in Veterans Day ceremony
- 'He was just a great player. A great teammate': Former Green Bay Packers center Ken Bowman dies at 81
- Influencer Cara Hodgson Lucky to Be Here After Being Electrocuted in Freak Accident
- What to know about changes to this year’s FAFSA application for college students
Recommendation
-
'SNL' stars jokingly declare support for Trump, Dana Carvey plays Elon Musk
-
Coach-to-player comms, sideline tablets tested in bowl games, but some schools decided to hold off
-
Ex-celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi found competent to stand trial for alleged $15 million client thefts
-
Shawn Mendes Shares Message About “Lows of Life” Amid Mental Health Journey
-
Kraft Heinz stops serving school-designed Lunchables because of low demand
-
Dalvin Cook, Jets part ways. Which NFL team could most use him for its playoff run?
-
CFP 1.0 changed college football, not all for better, and was necessary step in postseason evolution
-
'He was just a great player. A great teammate': Former Green Bay Packers center Ken Bowman dies at 81