Paris Hilton’s Win Against the Troubled Teen Industry

When people think of Paris Hilton, most would think of the wealthy, blonde ‘party girl’ persona that defined much of her public image in the 2000s . However, people rarely know about the horrific abuse she faced in her youth at the hands of the troubled teen industry; nor how she was able to fight back against it. She has since become a prominent advocate for reforming the industry and strengthening protections for young people in residential treatment facilities. . 

What is the troubled teen industry?

The ‘troubled teen industry’ is an umbrella term commonly used to describe private residential programs aimed at addressing behavioural, emotional, or substance-use issues among young people. The industry has faced widespread scrutiny over allegations of abuse, neglect, inadequate oversight, and coercive practices.

Some families have used youth transport services in which teenagers are taken from their homes, sometimes at night and without prior warning, and transported to residential facilities.

Once you’re in, the teenagers would face all kinds of abuse such as being strip-searched, starved, restrained, forced to exert themselves physically with no sustenance, being barred from self-hygiene, and even beaten by staff while also being denied medical treatment. These facilities have even caused the death of a few teenagers, such as 17-year-old Taylor Goodridge, who passed away after being denied medical treatment for an infection in her abdomen that led to sepsis; an infection that was treatable with antibiotics.

You may be wondering: if it’s so bad, why haven’t they been made illegal ages ago? Firstly, because this is an industry that focuses on “correcting” misbehaving teenagers, it is easy to convince the parents that these children are simply lying for attention, which is what many of the staff do. Thus, these teenagers’ cries for help often fall on deaf ears, as all the adults around them are convinced that they are either lying for attention or just want to get out of therapy. Secondly, many of these facilities are not government-funded; they are private institutions. This means it is easier to get around the need for certain permits. Many of these facilities are also religious, which sometimes mean they are exempt from government permits and state licensing. 

Paris’s Story

At age 17, Paris Hilton was sent to a facility named Provo Canyon School. Like many, she was forcibly taken from her home in the middle of the night by staff with the consent of her parents. Hilton’s parents sent her to a series of boarding schools, including Provo Canyon, to treat her ADHD and rebellious teen behaviour; instead, Hilton has alleged that she experienced physical and psychological abuse at the school, including being physically restrained and put in solitary confinement without any sort of blanket or proper clothing, given forced invasive pelvic exams done by non-medical professionals, strip searched, forced to ingest unknown medication, and constantly surveilled by staff, even in the bathroom. “I felt like a lot of the people who worked there got off on torturing children and seeing them naked,” says Hilton. Instead of getting any sort of help, she came out of the school with PTSD, trust issues, and insomnia. 

Advocacy and Reform

On September 14th 2020, Hilton released her documentary This Is Paris, where she spoke up about all the abuse she faced from the troubled teen industry. Since then, she has become a prominent advocate for greater oversight and protections for young people in residential treatment facilities. . After the release of This Is Paris, on October 9th, she protested outside Provo Canyon School along with other survivors to call for the school’s closure. Hilton testified at the White House multiple times in support of bills that would give the troubled teen industry less power. On October 10th 2021, she held a press conference outside Capitol Hill in support of the Accountability for Congregate Care Act, which Hilton said would “lay the groundwork” for a bill of rights dedicated to making sure children sent to troubled teen facilities would be protected from institutional abuse, neglect, and coercion.

All of her efforts thus culminated when she helped the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act officially pass Congress. The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act pushed for reform in troubled teen youth facilities to implement “crucial recommendations from the Government Accountability Office and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration”, thus forcing these programs to be more transparent and protecting the children in these youth programs from institutional abuse. 

Her biggest personal win came on July 7th 2026, when the state of Utah revoked Provo Canyon School’s license after multiple citations of physical abuse and neglect going all the way back to 2025. For Hilton and other survivors who have spent years speaking out about their experiences, the closure represents a significant moment of accountability—and a reminder of what sustained advocacy can achieve. 

What People Get Wrong About Teenagers

Teenagers are often the most misunderstood group of children. Adults often talk about the “rebellious teen phase” as if they’re straight nightmare material, when in actuality, teenagers are struggling with the changes that come from transitioning from a child to an adult. Oftentimes, “teenage rebellion” is just them feeling that their autonomy as a person is being threatened, as they just want to be treated as real people and not be controlled by what they perceive as unjust authority. Similarly, in the This Is Paris documentary, Nicky, Paris’s sister, said that their mother being so controlling was likely what led to Paris becoming a party girl; “‘No dating, no makeup, no this, no that’. Everyone had late curfews, ‘no, you had to be home early, no, no, no, no’. And then finally she was just like…‘I’m doing what I want’.”

However, many adults don’t see that; they just see an out-of-control child who wants to make grown-up decisions when they are still children. The industry has also faced criticism for systems in which young people’s accounts of mistreatment can be dismissed as manipulation or attempts to leave treatment.  All of that changes thanks to Paris Hilton, who is now finally giving them a voice and protecting them. “And to the children still trapped in these systems: I will never stop fighting for you. Change is possible!” Hilton said on her Instagram.

Reference List

Associated Press. 2020. “Paris Hilton Protest Calls for Closure of Utah School.” Nine.Com.Au. October 10, 2020. https://www.nine.com.au/world-news/usa/paris-hilton-protest-calls-for-closure-of-utah-school-20201010-p5xze2.html.

Davis, Austin. 2025. “Paris Hilton and The Truth About Troubled Youth Programs.” Clearfork Academy. https://clearforkacademy.com/blog/paris-hilton-and-the-truth-about-troubled-youth-programs/.

Dean, Alexandra, dir. 2020. This Is Paris. YouTube Originals.

Hilton, Paris. n.d. “Paris’ Impact Work.” Paris Hilton. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://parishilton.com/paris-impact-work/.

Hilton, Paris (@parishilton). Instagram post. December 19, 2024. https://www.instagram.com/p/DDuwKytxTL7/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=AsW_DjEuE5aCEGonV66LxuR&img_index=1.

josier. 2024. “Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act Passes United States Senate.” Phillips Law Group - Injury Lawyers. December 13, 2024. https://phillipslaw.com/blog/stop-institutional-child-abuse-act-passes-united-states-senate/.

Kinkade, Tyler. “Troubled Teen Facility in Utah Ordered to Shut down after Child’s Death.” 2023. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/diamond-ranch-academy-ordered-shut-child-death-rcna94297.

McNamara, Katherine. 2021. “Caroline Cole, the Former Legislative Director of Breaking Code Silence, and Paris Hilton Travel to Washington DC to Unveil the Accountability for Congregate Care Act (ACCA). The Accountability for Congregate Care Act Will Lay the Groundwork for What Hilton and Cole Refer to as a ‘Bill of Rights’ for Young People In.” Unsilenced. Unsilenced Project, Inc. December 27, 2021. https://www.unsilenced.org/timeline/the-accountability-for-congregate-care-act/.

Okoren, Nicolle. 2022. “The Wilderness ‘Therapy’ That Teens Say Feels like Abuse: ‘You Are on Guard at All Times.’” The Guardian, November 14, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/14/us-wilderness-therapy-camps-troubled-teen-industry-abuse.

Teenagers Might Have a Problem With Respect But It’s Not the One You Think — Developmental Science. 2017. “Developmental Science.” Developmental Science. https://www.developmentalscience.com/blog/2017/11/29/teenagers-might-have-a-problem-with-respect-but-its-not-the-one-you-think.

The Associated Press. 2026. “Utah Revokes License for Boarding School Where Paris Hilton Says She Was Abused as a Teen.” NBC News. July 7, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/utah-revokes-license-boarding-school-paris-hilton-says-was-abused-teen-rcna353301.