Greenlandic Inuit women have come out to sue Denmark claiming it ran a population control program without the consent of these women and thousands of others in the 1960s.
As of today, 67 Greenlandic women have come out to formally sue the Danish government, due to the birth control devices inserted by Danish doctors.
Denmark started controlling population growth in the territory by enforcing contraceptive methods. In the 1960s and 70s, some 4,500 young Inuits had intrauterine devices (IUDs) inserted without their consent or that of their families, according to Danish media DR’s investigation published last year.
As per some of the victims, they didn’t consent to the decision and went through painful procedures. They are seeking reparations of 300,000 Danish crowns (42,000 dollars) each.
Their attorney says there is enough information to prove some violations in what is also referred to as the “spiral case,” another name for the IUDs. She also argues that many of these women are old and can’t afford to wait for the Danish government to reach an adequate conclusion.
In May 2023, the Danish government and the Cabinet of Greenland (Naalakkersuisut) announced an investigation into the birth control practices in Greenland between 1960 and 1991, when the responsibility of Greenland’s healthcare services was transferred to Denmark. The investigation aims to discover the extent of the case as well as the specific practices.
However, the 67 women who have sued the Danish government are seeking reparations before the results of the investigation, which is expected to be finalized by May 2025.
Before the birth control measures were made public, it was previously known that Denmark had forcibly sent 22 Inuit children to Denmark, as part of “The Little Danes” experiment. This so-called social experiment in the 50s took children to Denmark to educate them as if they were Danish children.
In 2020, the prime minister of Denmark, Mette Fredriksen, apologized to these children for Denmark’s actions. Six of them received compensation in 2022.
