Paris Hilton continues to advocate for victims of child abuse after allegedly suffering trauma as a teenager at a Utah boarding school.

On Monday, December 16, Hilton, 42, posted an open letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives via Instagram. She urged them to prioritize passing the Institutional Child Abuse Act before adjourning until Christmas.

“For most of my life, I carried a deep, unspoken pain,” the mother of two wrote in the letter.

“I thought if I stayed calm and buried it far enough, maybe I could convince myself it didn’t happen. But silence doesn’t heal – it only protects the people who caused the harm. Speaking up was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it was also the most powerful.

“As a teenager, I was sent to juvenile treatment facilities where I endured abuse that no child should ever experience,” she continued. “I was physically restricted, sexually abused, isolated, overdosed and stripped of my dignity. Mir wurde gesagt, dass ich keine Rolle spiele, dass ich das Problem sei und dass mir niemand glauben würde, wenn ich etwas sagen würde – nicht einmal meine Familie. For years I lived with the weight of this trauma, the nightmares and the shame. It wasn’t until I found my voice that I began to heal.”

The heiress added a caption that read, “Silence doesn’t heal – it protects the people who caused the damage,” alongside a broken heart emoji.

“To every member of the House,” she continued. “Think of the children who cannot speak for themselves. They are counting on you. Let’s make meaning out of pain and protect the most vulnerable among us.”

Bereits im August 2020 sagte Hilton gegenüber PEOPLE, dass die 11 Monate, die sie an der Provo Canyon School verbrachte, „andauernde Folter“ seien. Parents Rick and Kathy sent Hilton, then 17, to boarding school after her party.

She claims staff bullied her by saying “horrible things” and being “physically abusive” so that the children were “too afraid to disobey them”.

When PEOPLE contacted the school in 2021, a representative said they would not comment on experiences with operations that occurred before the ownership change in August 2000.

Hilton revealed in her open letter that advocating for change was “the most challenging and rewarding” experience of her life. She also mentioned that she met other “courageous survivors” during her journey.

Hilton said the “unanimous” passage of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act on Wednesday, Dec. 11, after years of lobbying, was “one of the best moments of my life.”

“It was proof that when we listen to survivors and put politics aside, we can create real, meaningful change,” the star continued. “But this journey is not over yet. I can’t celebrate until this bill becomes law, and now it’s up to the U.S. House of Representatives to finish what the Senate started.”

“I have always believed in turning pain into meaning and creating something good out of something dark. Survivors like me have been fighting this battle for far too long. Now I ask you to carry it across the finish line. Let’s make this moment a moment our country can be proud of – a moment when we choose to protect the most vulnerable among us.”

A spokeswoman for the reality TV star told ABC News that she has been traveling to Washington every six to 10 months since October 2021 to lobby Congress to reform residential treatment facilities for juveniles.

“I won’t stop fighting until something changes,” she told the outlet. “This is my lifelong mission and I truly believe it is my true purpose in life. “I will not stop fighting for these children and being a voice for them.”

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453 or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available around the clock in more than 170 languages.