Paris Hilton teamed up with a group of congressional Democrats to push to create new regulations to end the abuse of children placed in facilities for troubled teens.
Last year, Hilton revealed her own traumatic experience as a troubled teenager who spent time in four different youth facilities in her Youtube documentary.
During an interview with NBC News, Hilton opened up about being choked, slapped, deprived of sleep, and even being spied on while she was in the shower.
“There are thousands of these types of schools, and there is almost 200,000 children every year put into these places,” Hilton detailed. “And every day, children are being physically, emotionally, verbally, psychologically, and sexually abused.”
Lawmakers hope this legislation will usher in sweeping changes at several types of at-risk youth facilities, including foster care and mental health facilities that rely on funding from taxpayers and those that are paid for privately.
Privately funded programs don’t currently face any federal regulations.
“Congress needs to act because children are dying in the name of treatment,” Hilton warned. “This is a human rights issue. People should be outraged with what’s happening.”
