Paris Hilton says she was abused, bullied in boarding school

Hilton, 39, appeared in court to testify against the school she has accused of inflicting emotional, physical abuse

Paris Hilton is speaking out about abuse she reportedly endured at a Utah boarding school.

Hilton, 39, appeared in court on Monday to testify against Provo Canyon School — the boarding school whose staff members she has accused of inflicting emotional, physical and psychological abuse on her during her stay as a teenager, reported People.

"My name is Paris Hilton, I am an institutional abuse survivor and I speak today on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of children currently in residential care facilities across the United States," she began. "For the past 20 years, I have had a recurring nightmare where I'm kidnapped in the middle of the night by two strangers, strip-searched and locked in a facility. I wish I could tell you that this haunting nightmare was just a dream but it is not​.”

The starlet went on, “I was verbally, mentally and physically abused on a daily basis.​ I was cut off from the outside world and stripped of all my human rights. Without a diagnosis, I was forced to consume medication that made me feel numb and exhausted. I didn't breathe fresh air or see the sunlight for 11 months. There was zero privacy — every time I would use the bathroom or take a shower — it was monitored," she alleged. "At 16, I felt their piercing eyes staring at my naked body. I was just a kid and felt violated ​every single day.​"

Hilton said she believes the alleged abuse at the school continued for years after she left, saying changes only started to be made after she publicly spoke out in her documentary earlier this year. "I tell my story not so that anyone feels bad for me but to shine a light on the reality of what happened then and is still happening. The people who work at, run, and fund these programmes should be ashamed. How can people live with themselves knowing this abuse is happening?"

The starlet urged for schools such as Provo Canyon to be monitored more. "Talking about something so personal is still terrifying. I cannot go to sleep knowing that there are children that are enduring the same abuse that I and so many others went through. Neither should you. I am proof that money doesn't protect against abuse."

The socialite was sent to Provo Canyon by her parents for 11 months in an attempt to tame her rebellious partying. "It was supposed to be a school but [classes] were not the focus at all," she recalled. "From the moment I woke up until I went to bed, it was all day screaming in my face, yelling at me, continuous torture. The staff would say terrible things. They were constantly making me feel bad about myself. I think it was their goal to break us down. And they were physically abusive, hitting and strangling us. They wanted to instill fear in the kids so we'd be too scared to disobey them."

Many other Provo Canyon School graduates have also shared their stories of alleged abuse. Hilton has been advocating to shut down the Utah boarding school and other institutions whose staff members allegedly abuse minors. "I buried my truth for so long," she said in an earlier interview. "People might assume everything in my life came easy to me but I want to show the world who I truly am."

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.