Thousands of women and girls in Greenland received IUDs in the 1960s and 1970s, many of them without consent, and last week, the country – along with Denmark – officially apologised.
The historic mistreatment of Greenlandic Indigenous girls and women, including forced contraception, dates back to the 1960s in some cases, reports Euronews.
In their apology, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the issue represented “a dark chapter in our history”, while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that although the past could not be changed, “we can take responsibility”.
Last year, nearly 150 Inuit women sued Denmark and filed compensation claims against its Health Ministry, saying Danish authorities had violated their human rights when they fitted them with intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs).
Some of the women, including many who were teenagers at the time, were not aware of what happened or did not give their consent.
Danish authorities last year said as many as 4 500 women and girls – reportedly half of the fertile women in Greenland at the time – received IUDs between the 1960s and mid-1970s.
The alleged purpose was to limit population growth in Greenland by preventing pregnancies. The population on the Arctic island was rapidly increasing at the time because of better living conditions and better healthcare.
“We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility,” Frederiksen said in the statement. “That is why I would like to say, on behalf of Denmark: we are sorry.”
Frederiksen said her apology also included Denmark’s systematic discrimination and other failures and mistreatments against Greenlanders “because they were Greenlanders”.
She acknowledged that the forced contraception led to physical and psychological harm.
Nielsen said the Government of Greenland, which took over control of its health sector from Copenhagen in 1992, had acknowledged its own responsibility in the forced contraception cases and has chosen to award compensation to the victims.
“Far too many women were affected in a way that left deep imprints on lives, families, and communities,” he wrote in a social media post.
“I feel for the women and their loved ones. And I share in their sorrow and anger.”
Greenland, which is part of the Danish realm, was a colony under Denmark’s crown until 1953, when it became a province in the Scandinavian country.
In 1979, the island was granted home rule, and 30 years later, Greenland became a self-governing entity.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Greenlandic women to sue over forced contraception
Judge: ‘Therapeutic sterilisation … not eugenics’