Between 1960 and 1991, at least 4,500 Greenlandic women had an IUD inserted against their will. Some did not even know that the procedure was performed. And young girls could have it inserted without their parents being informed.
15 women receive compensation
The idea was to limit the number of Greenlandic children. The Danish society hoped in this way to reduce the costs of preschools, schools and healthcare, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau.
Many years later, 67 affected women sued the Danish state. As SVT has previously reported, they accuse Denmark of human rights violations and demand 300,000 Danish kroner each in damages.
After the lawsuit, the Greenlandic self-government has now decided that affected women will receive compensation. But that only applies to the 15 women who were affected after Greenland took over responsibility for healthcare in 1991. The vast majority, who had an IUD inserted during the Danish rule, have not received any compensation. And there the legal process is now growing.
The claim for damages: 43 million Danish kroner
More and more women join the mood and during the year it has grown to roughly 140 women. The total compensation claim against Denmark is now up to 43 million Danish kroner.
But the legal process also brings something positive. Elisabeth Heilmann Blind, who was born and raised in Greenland, but has lived in Sápmi for many years, states that this has meant that more and more people now dare to talk about what has happened. The spiral compulsion has been something that many people have known about, but which has been shrouded in shame and silenced.
– People have finally broken the silence and a healing process can be started. We are talking about healing an entire society from the abuses that have been committed against us as a people. But it takes time, abuse takes several generations to get over, she says.
“Many women have been traumatized”
At the same time, it is now becoming clear how hard this has hit Greenland. The island, which today has a population of 57,000 inhabitants, could have had a significantly larger population and then also had more to say about the world.
– Individually, there are also many women who have suffered trauma. They have not been able to have children later when they have removed the IUD and this has had many psychological and physical consequences, says Elisabeth Heilmann Blind.
The Danish government and the Greenlandic government of Naalakkersuisut launched an investigation into the events in 2023. It is expected to be completed in 2025.