Paris Hilton recounts being "violently restrained" and "dragged down hallways" to Congress panel

Paris Hilton, the American socialite and media personality, testified before a congressional panel investigating ways to enhance child welfare protections, stating that she “force-fed medications and sexually abused by staff” during her time in institutional care as a teenager.

Hilton, a vocal supporter of improved safeguards for children in youth facilities, testified before the House committee on ways and means on Wednesday, detailing incidents where she was “violently restrained and dragged down hallways, stripped naked and thrown into solitary confinement”.

The 43-year-old has previously recounted experiencing what she called “a parent-approved kidnapping” at four different youth facilities, as her parents sought solutions for her rebellious behavior and “fell for the misleading marketing of the troubled teen industry”.

She has portrayed the "tough love" industry for teen rehabilitation as a $50 billion sector encompassing therapeutic boarding schools, military-style boot camps, juvenile justice facilities, and behavior modification programs.

During her testimony on Wednesday, the reality TV star expressed that her time in institutions was “isolating and traumatic.”

She also mentioned that she was unable to inform her parents about her situation because her phone calls were monitored.

“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,” Hilton informed the panel.

Hilton has urged lawmakers to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, aimed at enhancing supervision of residential youth programs. She also backs the reauthorization of Title IV-B of the Social Security Act and advocates for a "Bill of Rights” for children in youth facilities.

The Provo Canyon School, where Hilton was once enrolled, responded to her allegations by stating that it has undergone changes in management and is unable to comment on operations or student experiences from before that period.

The school stated, “what we can say is that the school provides a structured environment, teaching life skills, providing behavioral health therapy, and continuing education for youth who come to us with pre-existing and complex emotional, behavioral and psychiatric needs.”

During the hearings, Hilton remarked that “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,” emphasizing that her parents had been “completely deceived” about the therapeutic care she was supposed to receive.