Paris Hilton Celebrates Congress Passing Her Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act: 'This Is a Day I'll Never Forget'

12/18/2024 08:33 PM

"This moment is proof that our voices matter, that speaking out can spark change," the reality TV star said

Paris Hilton is celebrating a huge milestone after using her celebrity and personal experience to enact protections for institutionalized youth.

"Today is a day I will never forget," the celebrity DJ, 43, began as the caption to a 20-photo Instagram carousel on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

"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.

The bill regulates best practices regarding the health and safety, care, treatment and appropriate placement of youth in boarding schools, boot camps and other youth centers, according to Congress and the organization's website.

The first image showed Hilton, dressed in a black pantsuit and multicolored top, standing on the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. as she held a poster with images of children above her head. 

"Children should not die in treatment," her message read. 

Related: Paris Hilton Advocates for Child Abuse Bill amid Her Own Teen Trauma: 'Silence Doesn't Heal'

Hilton continued with her caption, adding, "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."

Additional photos showed the socialite standing with members from her Trapped in Treatment podcast, a docu-style series where Hilton reveals the truth about her abuse at Provo Canyon School alongside a mix of experts as they discuss the origins of the Troubled Teen Industry.

Hilton first opened up about her experience in her 2020 documentary, This Is Paris. 

"It was supposed to be a school, but [classes] were not the focus at all," Hilton previously told PEOPLE about the behavioral health center her parents sent her to as a teen. "From the moment I woke up until I went to bed, it was all day screaming in my face, yelling at me, continuous torture."

Related: Paris Hilton Talks Alleged Abuse, Sex Tape and Trust Issues: 5 Revelations from Her Documentary

In her Instagram caption Wednesday, Hilton thanked "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," she added, also tagging several legislators who assisted with getting the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act passed.

Hilton concluded: "And to the children still trapped in these systems: I will never stop fighting for you. Change is possible! 🙌🏼."

Her family was also onboard to support her efforts, as Hilton shared smiling photos of her husband, Carter Reum, along with their son, Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum, whom the couple welcomed via surrogate on Jan. 16, 2023.

She and Reum are also parents to London Marilyn Hilton Reum, 1, who arrived via surrogate in November 2023.

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Ahead of the bill being passed, Hilton shared an open letter on Instagram earlier this week, stating that she was "physically restrained, sexually abused, isolated, overmedicated, and stripped of my dignity" as a teenager at Provo Canyon School.

The mother of two urged "every member of the House" to "think of the children who can't speak for themselves." 

The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act was passed "unanimously" by the Senate on Dec. 11, before the House also voted in its favor. Next, it will go to President Biden before it can be signed into law.