LOS ANGELES - Marylandian -- The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, a mental health industry watchdog based in Los Angeles, praised media personality, businesswoman and mother, Paris Hilton, her movement exposing "troubled teen" abuse, and members of Congress for the recent passage of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. The federal law, championed by Ms. Hilton and supported by CCHR and many other groups, passed unanimously through the U.S. Senate and by a vote of 373 to 33 in the House. On Christmas Eve, the President signed into law the much-needed oversight measures aimed at protecting children from behavioral and psychiatric abuse in institutional care.[1] It marks a monumental children's human rights achievement for 2024.

Representatives Ro Khanna (CA), Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (GA), along with Senators Jeff Merkley (OR), John Cornyn (TX), and Tommy Tuberville (AL), were joined by Ms. Hilton in celebrating the passage of the Act in the House. "Children across the country are at risk of abuse and neglect due to a lack of transparency in institutional youth treatment programs. The industry has gone unchecked for too long," said Rep. Khanna. "We need some more sunlight on these facilities so we can put a stop to the waste, and the fraud, and abuse in the system. I'm proud to support the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act and stand with our kids," said Senator Tommy Tuberville.[2] Senator Cornyn stated, "Some children in residential youth programs have faced unimaginable abuse and neglect, and I am proud to have introduced this legislation to help ensure institutional child abuse comes to an end."[3]

Hilton, who is vocal about the abuse she experienced while, as a teen, attending a Utah behavioral facility owned by a since bankrupted for-profit behavioral treatment company, shared a message about the news on Instagram. "After years of sharing my story and advocating on Capitol Hill, the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act has officially passed the U.S Congress," she said. "This moment is proof that our voices matter, that speaking out can spark change, and that no child should ever endure the horrors of abuse in silence. I did this for the younger version of myself and the youth who were senselessly taken from us by the Troubled Teen Industry."[4]

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She added, "To the countless survivors who shared their stories, to the families who stood with us, and to the coalition, thank you from the bottom of my heart for standing with me. To the legislators who chose courage over complacency and fought for me: you've made my dream come true."

The act aims to study and ultimately help prevent child abuse in youth residential programs. Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall seek to enter into a contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study to examine the state of youth in youth residential programs and make recommendations. A report on the findings is to be issued within three years, identifying the "nature, prevalence, severity, and scope of child abuse, neglect, and deaths in youth residential programs, including types of abuse and neglect, causes of abuse, neglect, and deaths, and criteria used to assess abuse, neglect, and deaths." There is also to be identification of all Federal and State funding sources for youth residential programs, with recommendations for the improvement of oversight of youth residential programs receiving Federal funding.[5]

CCHR is particularly encouraged by the study's focus on determining the "best practices to eliminate the use of physical, mechanical, and chemical restraint and seclusion," especially in light of the numerous horrific child and teen restraint-related deaths reported in recent years. In the U.S., 37.5% of child or adolescent inpatients in mental health facilities have been subjected to seclusion or restraint.[6]

Other celebrities such as Paris Jackson, Kat Von D, Collin Gosselin, and Chet Hanks, have spoken out about the trauma of being held against their will in behavioral facilities during their teens. Many residential treatment hospitals, owned by for-profit behavioral companies, have become a gravy train for investors in a $23 billion-a-year "child abuse" industry.[7]

In 2020, Hilton's compelling documentary, This is Paris, raised crucial public awareness about the industry. She, the #Breaking Code Silence movement, and others, including CCHR, have demanded reforms. As a teenager in 1999, Hilton spent 11 months in the Utah behavioral residential facility, where she alleges she was forced to take psychotropic drugs, placed in solitary confinement, and beaten—an experience that caused long-term trauma for her.

CCHR was instrumental in investigating and exposing the facility in the late 1990s. A year after Hilton left the facility, another for-profit behavioral company took ownership, which has since been plagued with allegations of abuse. Between 2003 and October 2020, CCHR reported at least 32 abuses in such facilities that related to sexual abuse, including several convictions of staff responsible. Other reported cases included 18 instances of abuse involving seclusion rooms or restraints use on children as young as six, three deaths, wrongful deaths, assaults, breaking a patient's arm and fracturing the nose of another, and at least six suicides that may have been preventable.[8]

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"The multibillion-dollar troubled teen industry has been able to mislead parents, school districts, child welfare agencies and juvenile justice systems for decades," said Hilton. "The reason is a systemwide lack of transparency and accountability," which the new law would address.[9] Ms. Hilton also stated: "I want these places shut down."[10]

CCHR, established by the Church of Scientology and the late Dr. Thomas Szasz, professor of psychiatry, says the enactment of this federal law is vital to initiating stronger oversight and protections, ensuring that those who abuse children and youths in institutions are held accountable both criminally and civilly. CCHR also calls for tougher penalties, including the closure of institutions where systemic abuse is found. The 55-year advocacy group has received state and federal government resolutions and recognitions for its children's rights actions leading to protections against psychiatric abuse.

Sources:

[1] www.aol.com/biden-signs-50-bills-including-004152255.html

[2] khanna.house.gov/media/press-releases/khanna-merkley-cornyn-tuberville-and-carter-joined-paris-hilton-celebrating

[3] buddycarter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=15293

[4] www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a63237313/paris-hilton-congress-passes-stop-institutional-child-abuse-act/

[5] www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/s1351/text/enr; www.today.com/popculture/paris-hilton-says-she-was-abused-boarding-school-teen-new-t190213

[6] www.crisisprevention.com/CPI/media/Media/Blogs/adverse-effects-associated-with-physical-restraint.pdf

[7] www.cchrint.org/2022/12/16/cchr-reviews-a-year-of-child-abuse-allegations-against-troubled-teen-behavioral-institutions/ citing www.breakingcodesilence.org/

[8] www.cchrint.org/2022/12/16/cchr-reviews-a-year-of-child-abuse-allegations-against-troubled-teen-behavioral-institutions/

[9] www.cchrint.org/2022/05/13/cchr-encourages-support-for-paris-hilton-congressional-child-abuse-reforms/, citing www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/paris-hilton-bill-troubled-teen-facilities-rcna3349

[10] people.com/tv/paris-hilton-opens-up-about-the-secret-terrifying-abuse-she-suffered-as-teen/