Denmark to pay €40,000 to Greenlandic women and girls for forced contraception 0 7

Denmark has reached an agreement to compensate thousands of women and girls from the indigenous population of Greenland who suffered from the practice of forced birth control carried out by medical authorities for decades, starting in the 1960s.

On Wednesday, the Danish Ministry of Health announced that women who were prescribed contraceptives without their knowledge or consent between 1960 and 1991 will be able to apply for individual payments of 300,000 Danish kroner (about €40,200) starting in April next year.

It is estimated that around 4,500 women in Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark, may be eligible for compensation.

Inuit women and girls, many of whom were teenagers at the time, were fitted with intrauterine contraceptives known as IUDs or “spirals,” or received hormonal injections, often without explanation of the details and without their consent.

“The case of IUDs is a dark chapter in our shared history. It had serious consequences for Greenlandic women who experienced both physical and psychological harm,” said Danish Health Minister Sophie Løhde in a statement.

“Unfortunately, we cannot take away the pain from the women, but compensation allows us to acknowledge and apologize for what they went through,” she added.

Applications for compensation can be submitted until June 2028.

An independent investigation published in September found that more than 350 women and girls from the indigenous population of Greenland, including approximately those aged 12 and younger, reported being forcibly prescribed contraception by medical authorities.

Overall, it is estimated that more than 4,000 women and girls were affected.

In August, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen publicly apologized for what happened, stating that the past cannot be changed, “but we can take responsibility.”