Paris Hilton Testifies in Congress About Being 'Force-Fed Medications' and Other Abuse She Endured in Child Welfare System

On Wednesday, June 26, Paris Hilton spoke during a congressional hearing about the state of child welfare in the United States, where she testified about her own experiences of abuse when she was institutionalized.

According toThe Guardian, the 43-year-old urged the House committee to do more to protect children placed in youth care facilities, including foster care programs.

Hilton recounted horrific abuse that she experienced, sharing that she was "force-fed medications and sexually abused by staff" and "violently restrained and dragged down hallways, stripped naked and thrown into solitary confinement" as a teenager.

Hilton was forced to live in various boarding schools when she was a teenager, after her parents expressed concern regarding her "rebellious behavior." One of the institutions she was involuntarily forced to endure was the Provo Canyon School in Utah. She previously spoke about the abuse she faced at the school in her biographical documentary This Is Paris.

During the congressional hearing, Hilton said that her experience in these institutions was "isolating and traumatic." She also explained that she couldn't inform her parents of the abuse, because her phone calls were being monitored by staff.

"It’s really difficult to tell anyone in the outside world. A lot of these kids are not believed because these places tell the parents they’re being lied to and manipulated because they want to go home,” she explained. "These programs promised healing, growth and support, but instead, did not allow me to speak, move freely or even look out a window for two years."

Hilton suggested her parents, and many others, were "completely deceived" by the school. She specifically called out private equity firms who have a large stake in the industry and said they place profit over the safety of children.

"This $23 billion industry sees this population (of vulnerable children) as dollar signs and operates without meaningful oversight," she said, per Reuters. "There's no education in these places, there's mold and blood on the walls. It's horrifying what these places are like. They're worse than some dog kennels."

She hopes her testimony will convince Congress to reinstitute Title IV-B, a federal fund designed to help child welfare programs. She also wants them to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act.