Hannah Horowitz was born in Hong Kong, raised in Los Angeles, and went to high school in Singapore.
“When I was in fifth grade, my mother exposed me to the concept of human trafficking. She was a federal prosecutor for the Department of Justice at the time, and her office was prosecuting an American man who purchased seven young girls from desperate families around Southeast Asia. The man enslaved the girls in his home in Cambodia, where they were sexually abused until one girl escaped and found policemen who did not turn a blind eye. Until that point, I believed that slavery ended in 1863. After learning that humans are bought and sold around the world every day, I was driven to become involved in efforts to eradicate this global crisis.”
“In high school, I volunteered with anti-human trafficking organizations in Southeast Asia. This past summer, I worked at the Stairway Foundation in the Philippines, where I helped with young male victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. I returned to Duke in the fall eager to begin a thesis on the topic of human trafficking and took the opportunity to research the extent of the problem within my own country. Eventually, I hope to apply the knowledge I gained about anti-human trafficking laws and protecting victims to a career focused on combatting trafficking in persons.”
“In addition to my major in Political Science, I am earning certificates in Ethics & Society and Policy, Journalism, and Media Studies. I enjoy news and investigative journalism and interned with Indy Week during the fall semester of my senior year. During my undergraduate career at Duke, I was the co-president of Planned Parenthood Generation Action and was a member of Dukes & Duchesses and Happy Kids, Healthy Kids. While I love my job teaching water sports at summer camp, after graduation I hope to pursue a career in the non-profit industry, specifically focused on international development.”
Faculty Advisor: Erik Wibbels
Honors Thesis:
Protecting Victims of Human Trafficking: Understanding the Variation in T Visa Approvals
