Child protection advocate Paris Hilton had testified on the subject before Congress.
President Joe Biden signed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act on Christmas Eve, one of 50 bills he approved that day. This bill, supported before Congress by hotel heiress Paris Hilton, will require youth residential treatment facilities to disclose when they use restraints and seclusion rooms against minors sent to them for rehabilitation.
Parents of particularly problematic teenagers will sometimes send their children to live in facilities that promise to treat their behavioral issues. However, it is common for these teens to experience abuse at the hands of their caretakers.
During her Congressional testimonies, Hilton shared her experiences at Provo Canyon School as a 17-year-old girl, where she was physically abused, forced to take unknown medications, watched while showering, and sent to solitary confinement naked.
“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,” Hilton stated following the bill’s Congressional passage last week.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For members of Congress to be discerning as they hold hearings and consider testimony.
- For the president as he is presented with legislation from Congress to sign into law.
Sources: AP News, MSNBC. The Hill
