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Recently, Kat Von D revealed some shocking news. The beauty guru and tattoo artist shared that she was sent to the same abusive school that Paris Hilton went to. Kat Von D shared that she was ‘kidnapped’ and forced to attend this school when she was just 15. She spent 6 months at the correctional institute. Kat shares that after seeing Paris Hilton’s ‘This Is Paris’ documentary, her old past traumas were triggered and she finally had the courage to share them with the world.
Kat Von D reveals she spent 6 months at the Provo Canyon facility
In an Instagram post, Kat Von D tells the world about the most traumatic experience of her life. She also thanked Paris Hilton for giving her the courage to share this personal story.
“I spent those six traumatic months of my teenage years, only to leave with major PTSD and other traumas due to the unregulated, unethical, and abusive protocols of this ‘school’ — and cannot believe this place is STILL OPERATING.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CF-u-lPlQxL/
In the video, Kat Von D shares that she was just 15 when she was sent to the Provo Canyon Institute. The reason for her family sending her there was because Kat started to dress a little differently than normal kids and that she started listening to punk-rock music. Another major reason for her being sent away was because she started her tattoo career and chose to drop out of high school. Kat Von D does emphasize that she does not put any blame of her traumatic experience on her parents.
How she was taken to the Provo Canyon school
Just like Paris Hilton, she was also taken away in the middle of the night. For Kat Von D, two men and one sturdy woman came in and instructed her to dress up and go with them. Kat shares that they were threatening to handcuff her if she would not obey their orders.
She was then put on a plane with three complete strangers and then rode in a car while blindfolded. Afterward, Kat Von D suffered through a highly degrading strip search in front of a stranger. Moreover, she was also forced to shave off her head.
At 15, she also gave urine, blood, and stool samples to the Institute’s workers. One of the counselors told her that she now had HIV due to her tattoo work. Kat Von D admits that she believed them because she was just fifteen years old. Though, later on, she realized the HIV diagnosis was simply a lie and something to manipulate her with in order for her to stop tattooing.
How it affected Kat Von D’s life
Kat Von D also explained that she did not suffer the same ‘sexual abuse and physical abuse’ that some of the other survivors of the Provo Canyon school endured. However, she did witness a lot of the kids there being subject to torture such as force-fed medication. The six months she spent in this institute led to her developing PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). And Kat Von D shares that it was also the reason for her using a lot of drugs and indulging in alcoholism. Fortunately, now, Kat Von D is 13 years sober.
In her Instagram post, Kat also encouraged everyone to watch Paris’s documentary and to learn more about the BreakingCodeSilence initiative:
Please take a moment to watch @parishilton ‘s documentary #ThisIsParis and follow @breakingcodesilence to see other survivors testimonials and better understand the horrors of the “Troubled Teen” industry, and the damage it causes to not just the kids, but the families. 🖤 #breakingcodesilence
Paris Hilton was very supportive of Kat Von D
Just like proving in her latest documentary, Paris Hilton proved that she’s got a very kind heart. She had nothing but kind words to say about fellow survivor Kat Von D. She reposted Kat’s Instagram video where she’s talking about her experience:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CF_aU5zJ3HS/?utm_source=ig_embed
She added supportive words in the caption and thanked Kat Von D for opening up with her story.
On behalf of all the survivors and myself, I want to send a huge thank you to @TheKatVonD for being so courageous, open and honest telling your story. In tears watching and listening to what you went through. 💔😢 Bringing back even more of the horrible memories I have blocked out for so many years. I can relate to you in so many ways.
Paris also explained how that she too felt ‘ashamed’ of her traumatic past at this school but she realized it was the school that should be ashamed:
Like you, I have always felt so ashamed to tell anyone about this. But it’s not us who should be ashamed. We were only children. The people who work at and run these places are the ones who should be ashamed. Thank you for helping shine a light with me on this very important movement.
Paris thanks The Breaking Code Silence movement
Paris Hilton also vowed that she would do everything in her power to shut down Provo Canyon:
No child should have to ever experience anything like this. 💔 And I am going to do everything in my power to shut down Provo and all the other places like it. Thank you for #BreakingCodeSilence 🙌 This is going to empower so many other survivors to let them know they are not alone and also expose these evil people.
Paris Hilton further encouraged everyone to learn more about the BreakingCodeSilence movement and to sign the petition to shut down the school. You can sign the petition here.
Learn more about the Breaking Code Silence movement here. It is set up by the survivors from the abusive schools that raise awareness on the problems that these institutions have:
BREAKING CODE SILENCE is a movement organized by a network of survivors and activists to raise awareness of the problems in the Troubled Teen Industry, and the need for reform. By using our many voices to tell our stories, we aim to create change and protect vulnerable youth from abuse.
Related: What’s the Breaking Code Silence Movement Paris Hilton is Supporting?
