COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday apologized for their roles in the past mistreatment of Greenlandic Indigenous girls and women that included forcing contraception upon them, 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 contraceptive devices, commonly known as coils or 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 coil implants 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 health care. IUDs, fitted in the uterus, prevent sperm from fertilizing an egg.
The governments' apology, issued in a joint statement, comes ahead of a report expected next month and related to an investigation into the mistreatment.
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. Denmark retains control over its foreign and defense affairs.
In 1992, Greenland took over control of its health sector from Copenhagen.
