Paris Hilton tells Congress during child protection hearing how she was “sexually abused and forcibly medicated”

Sign up for Inside Washington’s daily email to get exclusive U.S. reporting and analysis delivered straight to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Paris Hilton has testified before the US Congress that she was sexually abused and forcibly administered medication while staying in youth hostels.

Hilton, a longtime advocate for child welfare and the regulation of such facilities, appeared before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. The hearing focused on strengthening the child welfare system and included testimony from several experts, including Hilton.

The heiress spoke about the time she spent as a child in youth homes, often referred to as the “problem youth industry.” The 43-year-old told the committee how she was ripped from her bed at home at age 16 and taken to the first of four institutions where she was eventually placed.

Hilton had previously stated that her parents sent her to these institutions after she started going to clubs and partying at the age of 15.

“These programs promised healing, growth and support, but instead they didn’t allow me to speak, move freely or even look out the window for two years,” Hilton told the panel.

“I was forcibly drugged and sexually abused by staff. I was forcibly restrained and dragged through the hallways, stripped naked and placed in solitary confinement.”

Hilton would cope with the abuse she suffered in these facilities by pretending to be someone else, she said The Independent last year.

“I was in so much pain that I created this fantasy life as a Barbie doll,” Hilton said. “It was a character I put on as a mask to protect myself.”

On Wednesday, Hilton said she supports the committee’s bipartisan effort to extend a law designed to improve child protections – Title IV-B of the Social Security Act – that expires in 2021.

The heiress also urged lawmakers to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, which would establish a federal task force on youth residential schools. The task force would then make recommendations on how to improve the safety and treatment of children in residential schools.

Hilton told the committee that youth residential programs are often more about profit than the safety of children.

“This means that they are trying to spend as little money as possible and that the type of employees they hire are not vetted and should not be around children,” Hilton testified.

Hilton has previously identified Utah’s Provo Canyon School, a residential youth facility, as one of the places where she faced abuse. The school has faced multiple lawsuits, threats to its licenses and reports of abuse by several students.The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The school said it could not immediately comment on Hilton’s allegations because it had since changed management.

“What we can say is that the school provides a structured environment in which life skills are taught, behavioral therapy is provided, and the education of youth who come to us with existing and complex emotional, behavioral and psychiatric needs is continued,” the school said in a 2021 statement.

Hilton called on lawmakers to enact regulations that would allow children in these programs to speak alone with their parents or a trusted adult.

“All of my outside contacts were completely controlled and there was always a staff member sitting right next to me,” Hilton said of her time in the programs.

“So if I said even one negative thing about the facility, they would immediately hang up and I would be punished, either physically beaten or put in solitary confinement.”

Lawmakers praised Hilton’s testimony throughout the hearing.

“Ms. Hilton, I want to thank you for your powerful and courageous testimony today and for the work you have done to raise awareness not only of the issues you have faced, but of the issues many others face every day,” said Representative Mike Thompson.

“Ms. Hilton, I read your story for the first time in Vanity Fair. I don’t normally read this magazine, my wife does. She told me, ‘You have to read this story. You won’t believe what happened to her,’ said Rep. Mike Kelly. ‘For you to tell what happened to you … is absolutely unbelievable and gives us all a whole new perspective.’

Hilton also shared a moment with Rep. Claudia Tenney: “I love your jacket,” Hilton told the representative. “The sparkle is incredible.”

“I had some bling here today,” Tenney replied.

Hilton also appeared before Congress in 2021, where she advocated for lawmakers to pass a Bill of Rights for children in institutions.

On Wednesday, she said she hoped her testimony would make a difference in the lives of children like hers.

“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be able to do this for the children who have no voice and to be the hero I needed when I was scared as a little girl in these places,” she said.