The government of Denmark announced this Wednesday (10) that it would pay compensation of 47,000 US dollars (approximately 256,000 reais) to women in Greenland who were victims of a forced contraception campaign that lasted until 1992 with the aim of reducing the birth rate of the territory’s Inuit population.
At the end of September, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen apologized to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, for this program. From 1960 to 1992, Danish authorities forced thousands of indigenous Greenlandic women of childbearing age to use an intrauterine contraceptive device – without their consent or that of their families.
At least 4,500 adolescents and adults were affected. Many of them became infertile and suffered physical and psychological problems. A group of 150 women sued the Kingdom of Denmark for violating their rights.
This campaign “had serious consequences for women in Greenland, who suffered physical and psychological consequences,” Health Minister Sophie Lohde said in a statement.
In September, Frederiksen announced the creation of a “reconciliation fund” to compensate victims and others who suffered discrimination based on their origin. But at the time, the government had not yet announced the amount.
To receive compensation, victims must provide a “credible account” in addition to a sworn declaration attesting that they were subjected to a form of contraception “in secret or without their consent”, specifies the latest government announcement.
The program will come into effect on June 1, 2026.
The Arctic territory, now the target of US President Donald Trump’s bravado and expansionist ambitions, was a Danish colony until 1953 and only in 1979 did it become an autonomous jurisdiction. However, local authorities did not take control of the health system until 1992.
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