Paris Hilton appears before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing titled ‘Strengthening Child Welfare and Protecting America’s Children’, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. EFE/EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS
Photo: EFE – MICHAEL REYNOLDS
“I’m here to be a voice for those who can’t speak,” the socialite said after detailing some of the alleged abuse she suffered at the first of four behavioral correction homes she attended as a young woman.
“They forced me to take medication and sexually abused me. They held me violently and dragged me through the hallways, they stripped me naked and locked me in solitary confinement,” explained the businesswoman and singer.
Hilton, who attended Provo Canyon High School as a teenager, has previously mentioned the episode in her memoir, “Paris: The Memoir,” and in various media interviews.
This Wednesday in Washington he noted that his parents were “completely deceived and manipulated by this for-profit industry” about the “inhumane treatment” of which he was a victim.
“So, can you imagine the treatment that the State can provide by not having people who are regularly inspecting them?” he continued.
Hilton, who in recent years has become a defender of children’s rights, presented the case of a 16-year-old girl residing in a public shelter who was murdered for having “innocently thrown a sandwich in the cafeteria.” .
According to the influencer, the young woman was “violently held for ten minutes” by eight members of staff: “They killed her on the floor of the dining room in front of dozens of children. The State could have prevented this.”
The DJ, a mother of two young children, expressed support for the Ways and Means Committee’s bipartisan effort to reauthorize Title IV-B of the Social Security Act on child welfare, which expired in 2021.
He also highlighted the importance of financial support for families so that they do not have to take their children to these centers and demanded decent conditions for those who have to reside in these spaces.
“It costs approximately $US800 to $US1,000 a day to place a youth in a foster care facility, that is significantly more than it would cost to care for them in their own communities. “What is more important, protecting business profits or protecting the lives of young people,” she questioned.
In 2021, Hilton also spoke about her teenage experience before a state Senate committee at the Utah Capitol to lobby for the creation of a bill requiring more government oversight of such institutions.
