For Millennials. By Millennials.
If you have watched Paris Hilton’s latest documentary, ‘This is Paris’, you would be shocked at many things. The main one being the abuse she suffered as a teen at the correctional institute she was forced to attend when she was young. In the documentary, we get to learn more about the harsh reality of what happens in these ‘schools’ disguised as correctional facilities for troubled teens. We also get to know about an amazing initiative ‘Breaking Code Silence’ whose aim is to ensure such institutional abuse never occurs again.
Breaking Code Silence Movement revolves around reform for the Troubled Teen industry
The history around the correctional and reform centers for the troubled teen has a very dark past. The foundation of these correctional schools actually stems from a highly toxic cult ‘Synanon’.
Under the guise of ‘rehabilitation centers for troubled youth’, these institutions’ only aim is for profit. They actually have no real interest in the betterment of children and teenagers that attend these schools.
There are instances of extreme physical, sexual, and mental abuse that the students in these facilities endure. In fact, some children have also lost their lives at these very institutes.
Paris Hilton shared how she was forced to take medication that made her groggy. And when she refused to do so, she was put in solitary confinement naked. In her documentary, she shared:
They’d make people take their clothes off and go in there, like, for 20 hours. It felt like I was going crazy. – I was just freezing, I was starving, I was alone, and I was scared.
Moreover, there are cases of other inhumane treatment such as kids being forced to eat their own vomit or put in cages. You can learn more about the abuse cases on Breaking Code Silence’s official website here.
The aim of Breaking Code Silence is to end abuse
Here is the official mission statement of Breaking Code Silence:
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.
The reality of these reform centers is that they’re actually built for the sole purpose of profit. There isn’t an actual interest in these institutions to help troubled teens. Perhaps the fact that there are institutions that exist to “cure” the LGBTQ teenagers out of their queerness points to the fact that there’s something clearly wrong.
The main reason these institutions can so easily exploit children and put them through inhumane and cruel treatment is that there is no proper regulation being done by the government.
Children can be held for years in facilities that claim to treat mental health and perform behavior modification, but do not follow psychological guidelines for treatment.
There’s no treatment that takes place in these institutions
On the official website of Breaking Code Silence, it is also explained that the children never receive the proper treatment that they are supposed to get:
The “treatment” these children receive is often far from therapeutic. Instead, the abuse can leave survivors with lifelong trauma, including PTSD. This systemic abuse goes back decades.
There is a lot of evidence for this systematic abuse taking place. In fact, one of the purposes of the Breaking Code Silence initiative is to bring this abuse to light. Many survivors have come forward and shared their stories on this platform.
Along with raising awareness of the dark truths of these institutions, Breaking Code Silence also aims to end institutional abuse by getting proper legislation for these institutions. They also investigate these reform centers to identify abuse taking places.
Their aim is to ultimately end mental and physical abuse that occurs in these educational institutes in the name of ‘reform’. Children and teenagers often make mistakes and suffer from different psychological conditions. That does not justify them being treated inhumanely by cruel hands that don’t really care about their well-being.
They should be given proper ways to grow and become better individuals with a focus on their care as well. You can’t help someone by inflicting trauma onto them during their most formative years.
Paris Hilton, Kat Von D, and others are supporting this cause
Paris Hilton should be credited for bringing a lot of attention to this cause. Ever since her documentary was released ‘This is Paris’, she brought attention to this very important issue and great initiative ‘Breaking Code Silence’. In fact, it led to many other survivors such as Kat Von D coming out with their stories.
After the documentary, she shared that she’s aiming to shut down the Provo Canyon school, the reform center she attended:
Paris Hilton hopes that the shutting down of Provo will be the domino effect needed to enact proper social change. The reality star is urging everyone to sign the petition to shut down the school. You can sign that here.
Furthermore, she’s constantly posting on her social media to raise awareness of how cruel these institutions can be:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGG1E6gnB3W/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
How you can take part in helping ‘Breaking Code Silence’
You can share resources and awareness about the issue by sharing this on social media as much as possible. There’s a petition you can sign to shut down Provo Canyon that you can sign.
Along with that, you can access ‘Breaking Code Silence’s official website and their Instagram page here. By following the Breaking Code Silence movement, you will be updated on how you can help by signing petitions and raising awareness.
If you are a survivor of such an institute, Paris Hilton shares a special message:
To survivors and supporters, let’s prove that our community is stronger than these “treatment” centers. Share your stories, letting each other know #ISeeYouSurvivor as we together aim at #BreakingCodeSilence by uniting to shut down Provo Canyon School and prevent future generations of survivors. If you were a survivor, family member, or employee at one of these facilities email [email protected] with your experience, any pertinent information, or any feedback you may have.
You can also share your personal story on Breaking Code Silence’s official website. You have the freedom to share the story in any way you want.
This is a great cause that we hope is successful in its goal. No child and teenager should be subject to this kind of torture, no matter what the reason.