Paris Hilton Says She Endured 11 Months of Abuse at Provo Canyon School in the 1990s. Now It's Finally Closing.

Paris Hilton has described Provo Canyon School as the place where her childhood changed forever for many years. Now, after decades of abuse allegations and years of campaigning by survivors, Utah officials have revoked the licence for the facility's girls' programme, ordering it to close over what regulators described as serious failures to protect children in its care.

For Hilton, who says she spent 11 months at the school in the late 1990s, the decision marks a deeply personal milestone in a fight she has carried from documentary films to Congress and state legislatures.

Paris Hilton Reacts to Provo Canyon School License Being Revoked

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services announced that Provo Canyon School's girls' campus had failed to meet required health and safety standards. State investigators cited multiple violations, including inadequate staffing, unnecessary restraints, aggressive physical contact, neglect of medical care and failures to complete required employee background checks. Utah officials have revoked the girls' programme's licence, meaning the facility must cease operations by 6 August unless it successfully appeals.

For Hilton, who first spoke publicly about Provo Canyon School in 2020, the state's decision represents the outcome she has spent years campaigning to achieve. She reacted to the news in a post on her official X account, describing the closure as long-overdue validation for survivors.

'I've been waiting years to write this,' Hilton wrote. 'The place that hurt me, and countless children before and after me, will no longer be allowed to operate.'

She also reflected on her own experience. 'The children inside are going to be removed,' Hilton continued. 'The dream I've had to protect future generations from the abuse I endured is finally happening.'

A Long-Awaited Victory for Paris Hilton and Other Survivors

The announcement carries particular significance because Hilton has spent years publicly recounting what she says happened during the 11 months she spent at Provo Canyon School as a teenager. In her 2020 documentary 'This Is Paris', and later in congressional testimony and public appearances, she alleged that staff beat her, watched her shower, forced her to take unidentified medication and placed her in solitary confinement without clothing. She has repeatedly said the experience left her with lasting trauma and inspired her campaign to reform what is commonly known as the troubled teen industry.

Hilton's activism has extended well beyond sharing her personal story. She has testified before lawmakers, supported legislation aimed at increasing oversight of youth residential treatment facilities and worked with survivors across the United States. Her advocacy has helped advance reforms in Utah and 15 other states designed to strengthen protections for children placed in behavioural treatment programmes. Just weeks before the latest licensing decision, Hilton returned to Provo Canyon School to support two families suing the facility over alleged mistreatment of their children.

While the school is now under different ownership than when Hilton attended, allegations surrounding the institution have persisted for decades. The current licensing action follows recent state investigations into the treatment of residents, including concerns over delayed medical care and other health and safety violations. School representatives have previously said they cannot comment on allegations predating the current ownership.

Although Provo Canyon School's operators may still challenge Utah's decision, the closure of its girls' programme stands as one of the strongest regulatory actions yet against the facility, and the culmination of a campaign Hilton began after breaking her silence about the abuse she says she endured as a teenager.