Legislation has been adopted providing compensation payments to Greenlandic women who underwent contraception procedures without consent. The compensation amount is set at 300 thousand Danish kroner (40 thousand euros) per person, according to the law that was approved with 100 votes in favor and 10 against.
The Member of the Autonomous Region in the Danish Parliament, Naaya H. Nathanielsen, emphasized the significance of this law, stating that it represents 'a very specific recognition of the trauma inflicted upon generations of Greenlandic women.'
A representative of Greenland, Karsok Hog-Dam, accused the Danish state of 'systematic discrimination' against women, viewing it as a violation of human rights. He also noted that this case is merely the 'tip of the iceberg,' hinting at other contentious issues between Denmark and Greenland.
Issues concerning the autonomous region of Greenland gained particular relevance last year due to President Donald Trump's interest in acquiring the territory under the pretext of ensuring United States national security.
The state broadcasting company DR reported that between the 1960s and 1991, no fewer than 4,500 women and adolescents (the youngest being 12 years old) received intrauterine devices (IUDs), often without their consent, which led to subsequent physical and psychological damage.
This initiative was part of a state family planning campaign in a territory that ceased to be a colony and became a Danish province in 1953, where a 'modernization plan' was implemented. Proponents of this measure argued that forced family planning took place because Greenland had one of the highest birth rates in the world at the time, and the goal was to reduce unplanned abortions among young women.
Nevertheless, in 2024, former Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute B. Egede, qualified what happened as 'genocide.' Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and current President Jens-Frederik Nielsen apologized last September during an official event in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
The Danish government previously announced the creation of a reconciliation fund covering various cases of discrimination and the development of legislation to compensate women who received IUDs without permission. Local authorities also initiated an additional investigation into the continuation of this practice from 1992 to the present and allocated 4.5 million kroner (about 600 thousand euros) for potential compensation payments.
The adoption of the law in the Copenhagen parliament occurred one day before the publication of the long-awaited report commissioned by the Greenlandic government on the possible consequences of this case for the human rights of the local population. The Prime Minister reiterated the seriousness of the situation and expressed regret for the damage caused, noting that public apologies had already been made, and compensation was 'the only' recourse, but declined to comment on the possible findings of the report.
This issue is also the subject of a collective lawsuit filed by 143 Greenlandic women against the Danish state for human rights violations, in which they demand compensation amounting to 43 million kroner (5.8 million euros). The trial is scheduled for early 2027.