Paris Hilton Pens Emotional Letter Asking House to Pass Child Abuse Bill: ‘Silence Doesn’t Heal’

16 December, 2024

Paris Hilton is imploring the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill protecting victims of child abuse before the Christmas holiday. In an impassioned open letter posted on her Instagram on Monday morning (Dec. 16), Hilton urged members of the House to “think of the children woh can’t speak for themselves. They’re counting on you,” adding, “let’s turn pain into purpose and protect the most vulnerable among us.”

The accompanying note from the singer/DJ and co-star of the new Peacock Simple Life reboot Paris & Nicole: The Encore implored House members to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse bill before they leave for the holiday break.

Hilton — who in 2021 gave emotional testimony in a Utah courtroom about the emotional, physical and psychological abuse she said she suffered at Utah boarding school as a teen — wrote in her letter that for most of her life she “carried a deep, unspoken pain. I thought if I stayed quiet, if I buried it far enough, maybe I could convince myself it didn’t happen. But silence doesn’t heal — it only protects the people that caused the harm. Speaking up has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s also been the most powerful.”

In the letter, mother of two Hilton, 39, recounted that as a teenager she was sent to a youth residential treatment facility where she endured “abuse that no child should ever experience.” She recounted what she’s alleged was abuse including being “physically restrained, sexually abused, isolated, overmedicated and stripped of my dignity. I was told I didn’t matter, that I was the problem, and that no one would believe me if I spoke up — not even my family.”

She said she lived with the weight of that trauma for years and didn’t begin to heal until she found the voice to speak out. “Advocating for change has been one of the most challenging and rewarding journeys of my life,” she wrote, talking of meeting fellow survivors who’ve shared their stories and how they inspired her to continue trying to help those still trapped in the system.

Hilton also detailed her alleged abuse in the 2020 YouTube Originals doc This Is Paris, which chronicled how that trauma carried over into her adulthood and she has frequently traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate Congress, and the White House, to work on reform to youth residential treatment facilities. The Senate passed its version of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act with unanimous support last week, legislation that Hilton has been lobbying for for more than three years; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer personally thanked Hilton after the bill’s passage.

Now Hilton is urging the House to pass their version with just one week left in the 118th Congress before lawmakers go home for the holiday and effectively wrap their work for this session in advance of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

“When the U.S. Senate came together in a rare show of unity to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act unanimously on Wednesday December 11th, it was one of the best moments of my life,” she wrote. “It was proof that when we listen to survivors and put politics aside, we can create real, meaningful change. But this journey isn’t over. I can’t celebrate until this bill becomes law, and now it’s up to the U.S. House of Representatives to finish what the Senate started.”

Hilton then specifically called out Majority Leader Steve Scalise, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the rest of the members to think about children who can’t speak for themselves. “They’re relying on us — on you — to stand up for their safety and dignity,” she said. “Passing this bill would be a testament to what we can achieve when we lead with empathy and courage.”

According to ABC News, Hilton was due back in Washington to meet with House members in person on Monday to urge them to pass the bill.

See Hilton’s open letter below.