Congress passed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, championed by a celebrity abused as a teen. CCHR says the law sets a precedent for protecting youth from psychiatric-behavioral restraints and other abuses, using strong oversight.
-- The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, a mental health industry watchdog based in Los Angeles, praised members of Congress for the recent passage of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. The federal law, championed by a major celebrity and mother, and supported by CCHR and many other groups, passed unanimously through the U.S. Senate and by a vote of 373 to 33 in the House. On Xmas Eve, the President signed into law the much-needed oversight measures aimed at protecting children from behavioral and psychiatric abuse in institutional care.[1] It marks a monumental children’s human rights achievement for 2024.
Representatives Ro Khanna (CA-17), Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (GA-01), along with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), were joined by the celebrity mother in celebrating the passage of the Act in the House. “Children across the country are at risk of abuse and neglect due to a lack of transparency in institutional youth treatment programs. The industry has gone unchecked for too long,” said Rep. Khanna. “We need some more sunlight on these facilities so we can put a stop to the waste, and the fraud, and abuse in the system. I’m proud to support the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act and stand with our kids,” said Senator Tuberville.[2] Senator Cornyn stated, “Some children in residential youth
programs have faced unimaginable abuse and neglect, and I am proud to have introduced this legislation to help ensure institutional child abuse comes to an end.”[3]
The celebrity, who has been vocal about the abuses she experienced while attending a Utah behavioral facility as a teen, and exposed in the 2020 documentary, This is Paris, shared a message about the news on Instagram. “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. “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.”[4]
She added, “To 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. To the legislators who chose courage over complacency and fought for me: you’ve made my dream come true.”
As a teenager in 1999, the now entrepreneur, singer, and political activist, spent 11 months in a Utah behavioral residential facility, where she alleges she was forced to take psychotropic drugs, placed in solitary confinement, and beaten—an experience that caused long-term trauma for her. Other celebrities have spoken out about the trauma of being held against their will in behavioral facilities during their teens. Many residential treatment hospitals, owned by for-profit behavioral companies, have become lucrative for investors in what has been called a $23 billion-a-year “child abuse” industry.[5]
She, the #Breaking Code Silence movement, and others, including CCHR, demanded reforms.
The new law aims to study and ultimately help prevent child abuse in youth residential programs. Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall seek to enter into a contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study to examine the state of youth in youth residential programs and make recommendations. A report on the findings is to be issued within three years, identifying the “nature, prevalence, severity, and scope of child abuse, neglect, and deaths in youth residential programs, including types of abuse and neglect, causes of abuse, neglect, and deaths, and criteria used to assess abuse, neglect, and deaths.” There is also to be identification of all Federal and State funding sources for youth residential programs, with recommendations for the improvement of oversight of youth residential programs receiving Federal funding.[6]
CCHR is particularly encouraged by the study’s focus on determining the “best practices to eliminate the use of physical, mechanical, and chemical restraint and seclusion,” especially because of the numerous horrific child and teen restraint-related deaths reported in recent years. In the U.S., 37.5% of child or adolescent inpatients in mental health facilities have been subjected to seclusion or restraint.[7]
In the late 1990s, CCHR was instrumental in investigating and exposing the abuse of teens in behavioral facilities. Between 2003 and October 2020, CCHR reported at least 32 abuses in such facilities that related to sexual abuse, including several convictions of staff responsible. Other reported cases included 18 instances of abuse involving seclusion rooms or restraints use on children as young as six, three deaths, wrongful deaths, assaults, breaking a patient’s arm and fracturing the nose of another, and, at least six suicides that may have been preventable.[8]
“The multibillion-dollar troubled teen industry has been able to mislead parents, school districts, child welfare agencies and juvenile justice systems for decades,” said the celebrity who spearheaded the need for the law. “The reason is a systemwide lack of transparency and accountability,” which the new law would address.[9] She also stated: “I want these places shut down.”[10]
CCHR, established by the Church of Scientology and the late Dr. Thomas Szasz, professor of psychiatry, says the enactment of this federal law is vital to initiating stronger oversight and protections, ensuring that those who abuse children and youths are held accountable both criminally and civilly. It also calls for tougher penalties, including the closure of institutions where systemic abuse is found. The 55-year group has received state and federal government resolutions and recognitions for its children’s rights actions leading to legal protections against psychiatric abuse.
Sources:
[1] www.aol.com/biden-signs-50-bills-including-004152255.html
[2] khanna.house.gov/media/press-releases/khanna-merkley-cornyn-tuberville-and-carter-joined-paris-hilton-celebrating
[3] buddycarter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=15293
[4] www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a63237313/paris-hilton-congress-passes-stop-institutional-child-abuse-act/
[5] www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/s1351/text/enr; www.today.com/popculture/paris-hilton-says-she-was-abused-boarding-school-teen-new-t190213
[6] www.crisisprevention.com/CPI/media/Media/Blogs/adverse-effects-associated-with-physical-restraint.pdf
[7] www.cchrint.org/2022/12/16/cchr-reviews-a-year-of-child-abuse-allegations-against-troubled-teen-behavioral-institutions/ citing www.breakingcodesilence.org/
[8] www.cchrint.org/2022/12/16/cchr-reviews-a-year-of-child-abuse-allegations-against-troubled-teen-behavioral-institutions/
[9] www.cchrint.org/2022/05/13/cchr-encourages-support-for-paris-hilton-congressional-child-abuse-reforms/, citing www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/paris-hilton-bill-troubled-teen-facilities-rcna3349
[10] people.com/tv/paris-hilton-opens-up-about-the-secret-terrifying-abuse-she-suffered-as-teen/
Contact Info:
Name: Amber Rauscher
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Organization: Citizens Commission on Human Rights International
Address: 6616 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90028, United States
Phone: +1-323-467-4242
Website: https://www.cchrint.org
Source: PressCable
Release ID: 89149585
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