Paris Hilton backs bill targeting child abuse: ‘What I went through will haunt me for the rest of my life’
Christine Queally
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Paris Hilton spoke out in support of legislation to protect minors in institutional care at a Thursday press conference on Capitol Hill.
The bipartisan bill, the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, is co-sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA).
PARIS HILTON ‘TURNING PAIN INTO PURPOSE’ WITH SUPPORT OF BILL TARGETING CHILD ABUSE
The bill would establish a federal work group to collect data and conduct research on federal youth programs. According to lawmakers, the data would then be used to create guidelines to prevent abuse of children in institutional and congregate care settings.
Hilton spoke about the deep ties she has to child abuse, having suffered herself in multiple facilities that were marketed as programs to help troubled teenagers.
“I witnessed and experienced sexual abuse from adult staff as well as endured verbal and emotional abuse daily,” she said.
“What I went through will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
She said her family was deceived by staff at the facilities who prevented her from telling her parents what was going on.
“One of the many issues with these programs is that parents sing away all the rights and know nothing about what is going on,” Hilton said.
The reality star-turned-advocate urged lawmakers to prioritize the legislation, calling out Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) by name.
Hilton mentioned that it had taken over two years to be able to introduce the legislation and that there is no time to waste while children continue to suffer.
“We cannot continue to play politics with children’s lives,” she said.
At the conference, Merkley pointed out that while 60,000 children in the U.S. are in institutional care settings, the federal government has little to no information about the abuse they are facing due to a lack of oversight.
“We need accountability,” he said.
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Lawmakers and advocates are expected to reconvene for the next steps within a year.
Hilton has advocated ending institutional child abuse for years. She began her advocacy work after speaking about the abuse she suffered in troubled teenager programs in her 2020 documentary, This is Paris. She also recently released a memoir in which she discusses her experience.