Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday apologised for their roles in the historic mistreatment of Greenlandic Indigenous girls and women, including forced contraception, in cases that date back to the 1960s.
Nearly 150 Inuit women last year sued Denmark and filed compensation claims against its health ministry, saying Danish health authorities violated their human rights when they fitted them with intrauterine devices (IUDs). The devices, fitted in the uterus, prevent sperm from fertilising an egg.
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.
The governments’ apology, issued in a joint statement, comes ahead of a report expected next month and related to an investigation into the mistreatment.
“We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in the statement. “That is why I would like to say, on behalf of Denmark: Sorry.”
