Neil Mallon, a senior research specialist with the Prevention of Adolescent Risks Initiative at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and the study’s lead author, highlights the challenges in quantifying the issue. “Unlike sex trafficking, which is defined as a form of child sexual abuse, labor trafficking is not defined in that sort of way within our child abuse laws,” Mallon explains. This lack of clear definition complicates the enforcement and the identification of responsible agencies for investigating and providing services to these children.