Businesswoman and celebrity Paris Hilton thanked U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) and other lawmakers on Monday for co-sponsoring a bill that, if passed, would reform the juvenile justice system and foster care.

Hilton alleged in a 2020 documentary that she was the victim of physical and emotional abuse at an involuntary residential treatment center for youth in Utah. There, Hilton claimed she was choked, slapped in the face, spied on while showering, deprived of sleep and more. 

She has been critical of what she calls the “troubled teen” industry, which refers to youth residential programs aimed at troubled teenagers.

Hilton began lobbying for a bill to prevent sexual and physical abuse in similar facilities earlier this year. 

Tuberville and Britt were two among 10 Republicans in the House and Senate who introduced the Stop Institutional Child Abuse (SICA) Act, which Democrats and Republicans authored in both houses.

Hilton thanked the bill’s seven Democrat sponsors in another post. 

Hilton’s bill aims to establish minimum standards and legally define “institutional child abuse.” It will also facilitate collaboration between federal agencies and encourage states to adopt policies to reduce the use of institutional facilities for children.

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