Denmark to offer payouts to Greenlandic women subject to forced contraception

The Danish government will offer payouts to Greenlandic women who were given birth control without their knowledge or consent.

Last year, 143 women in Greenland who claim they were forcibly fitted with contraceptive intrauterine devices (IUDs) as early as the 1960s sued Denmark, which was responsible for Greenland's health care system until 1992.

The official government campaign, carried out by Denmark for decades, aimed to control Greenland’s population growth by preventing women from becoming pregnant.

In August, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a public apology, saying that while the past cannot be changed, “we can take responsibility”.

It isn’t yet clear how many women will be offered financial compensation.

While the ongoing lawsuit involves 143 women, media investigations and a recent government-commissioned report have revealed that thousands of Greenlandic girls and women may have been affected by the practice.

The independent report, which was conducted by Danish and Greenlandic universities, found that at least 4,070 women and girls had had IUDs inserted by the end of 1970, though “we do not know exactly how many”.

“This corresponds to approximately every other Greenlandic-born woman of childbearing age,” the researchers said.

They detailed 410 cases of women being fitted with IUDs – including 349 involving health complications – based on personal testimonies, medical records, and historical documents.

One victim recalled the procedure when she was 12 years old at boarding school.

“The school principal came and told us that we all had to go down to the hospital,” she told the researchers. “We were given no explanation, let alone information about what it was all about”.

The authors said the practice may have violated Danish law and international human rights standards, but stressed that the courts must make the final judgment on whether the practice violated any laws.

On Monday, Frederiksen hinted that the victims will be compensated ahead of a meeting this week with Greenlandic leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen, saying Denmark “can create the conditions for reconciliation with the past”.

Frederiksen said the Danish government will create a “reconciliation fund” to provide individual payouts to Greenlanders “who have been subjected to systematic discrimination,” including those who forcibly received birth control.

The victims participating in the lawsuit demanded total compensation of nearly 43 million Danish kroner (nearly €5.8 million).

The two governments plan to issue another official apology in Greenland’s capital Nuuk at an event planned in collaboration with a representative of the victims.

Frederiksen has issued two apologies to Greenlanders for historical government abuse during her six years in office, but she hasn’t previously offered financial compensation for victims.

In the other case, known as the Greenland Children Project, 22 Greenlandic children were taken away from their families and moved to Denmark, effectively “being forced to be Danish,” Frederiksen said in 2020.

The lawyers who have earned apologies from Frederiksen’s administration are currently working on additional cases. They involve 26 Greenlanders born without rights to their fathers’ surnames or inheritance, as well as adoptions from Greenland to Denmark.

Researchers say the government’s public apologies open the door for victims of government abuse to seek financial compensation.