London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 02, 2025

Paris Hilton joins lawmakers introducing a bill to end abuse in the 'troubled teen' industry: 'What I went through will haunt me for the rest of my life'

Paris Hilton joins lawmakers introducing a bill to end abuse in the 'troubled teen' industry: 'What I went through will haunt me for the rest of my life'

Sen. Jeff Merkley told Insider the bill was the first step in bringing transparency and oversight to end abuse in residential treatment centers.
Paris Hilton joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the Capitol on Thursday to announce the introduction of a new bill aimed at ending abuse in the "troubled teen" industry.

Sens. Jeff Merkley, John Cornyn, and Tommy Tuberville along with Reps. Ro Khanna and Buddy Carter said at a press conference they were introducing the "Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act." Hilton, who has spoken openly about the abuse she said experienced at such programs as a teen, appeared alongside the lawmakers.

"From the ages of 16 to 18, I was sent to four troubled teen industry facilities, each one more horrific than the last. I witnessed and experienced sexual abuse from adult staff, as well as endured verbal and emotional abuse," Hilton said, continuing: "When I attempted to tell my parents about the abuse on the phone, the staff would immediately hang up the phone and punish me. On top of this, we had no access to the outside doors, no sunlight, no fresh air."

"What I went through will haunt me for the rest of my life," Hilton, now 42, added.

The "troubled teen" industry refers to a range of residential treatment centers nationwide that are aimed at kids struggling with emotional or behavioral issues. Programs have been accused of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and teens have died while attending such facilities. Critics say the programs continue to operate without sufficient consequences and too little government oversight, allowing abusive centers to remain open and profit off of the abuse of kids.

According to the lawmakers, the bill introduced Thursday would "provide greater oversight and data transparency for institutional youth treatment programs, begin implementing urgent recommendations to develop robust information sharing systems among states, and promote dissemination of best practices for identifying and preventing institutional child abuse."

"Institutional care, without oversight, all too often becomes institutional abuse," Merkley said in a statement. "Reforming our residential care system would improve the lives of thousands of children across our country, and it merits our urgent attention."

Merkley told Insider that the bill would help gather information on the programs, including where these programs are, how many people they employ, how many youths they treat, what therapeutic practices they use, and what kind of oversight, if any, they currently have.

He said that when lawmakers first started looking into the troubled teen industry, they found they "didn't know what sort of oversight and regulation are appropriate, or even what already exists within different states, and therefore didn't have the ability to create the momentum for a coherent framework to provide that oversight."

With the information that would be gathered as a result of the new bill, Merkley said they can come back and determine the best strategies for oversight and monitoring the programs.

"I think just the passage of this bill will educate so many legislators about the issue and will kind of lay the grounds for regulating this industry," he said.

"There's just a huge amount to learn," Merkley added. "These things have really been hiding out of sight until Paris led the effort to shine a light on them."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
×