Crystal and Amanda are a married couple in South Dakota raising a son. Crystal is a transgender woman – that means that she was raised male but felt for a long time that that didn’t quite fit, and so she transitioned to live openly as the woman she has long known herself to be. At one point, finances for the family were tight and despite facing harassment at her job from coworkers who had recently learned that she is transgender, she remained at the job because her family relied on her income. One morning Crystal was running late, so she called her boss and informed them that she would be a few minutes late. Other employees had often called in a few minutes late before with no issue – but when Crystal arrived, her boss fired her on the spot. Crystal suspected that she was fired because she is transgender and her boss was looking for an excuse to terminate her employment.

“My wife struggles working hard to support both of us because of this discrimination,” Crystal said. “It’s such a defeating experience and makes survival consume our lives. I feel so helpless and depressed knowing I can’t help [my wife].”