Denmark to compensate Greenlandic women for involuntary birth control
Denmark’s government said on Wednesday it had reached an agreement in parliament to provide individual compensation to Greenlandic women who were victims of a decades-long involuntary birth control campaign.
The case is one of several that have emerged in recent years concerning allegations of misconduct by Danish authorities against the people of Greenland, now a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
The birth control campaign came to light in 2022 when records showed that thousands of women and girls as young as 13 had been fitted with intrauterine devices without their knowledge or consent between 1966 and 1991, the year Greenland was given authority over its healthcare system.
“Now women are getting the compensation we have been fighting for for many years,” Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament who voted for the political agreement, said in a post on Instagram.
Under the agreement, eligible women will receive 300,000 Danish crowns ($46,750) each through a reconciliation fund, the health ministry said in a statement.
Eligible women must have lived in Greenland or attended boarding school in Denmark during the period and would have to substantiate their accounts.
“For too long we turned a blind eye to the injustice that was committed against them … We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written comment.
In September, Frederiksen apologized in person to some of the women who were victims. This marked another step in Denmark’s accelerated efforts to repair ties with Greenland since U.S. President Donald Trump began vowing to take control of the vast, resource-rich Arctic island for security reasons.
Applications will open in April 2026 with approximately 4,500 women potentially eligible and first payments are expected in the autumn of 2026, the ministry said.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Red Dress Day observed in Canada for missing and murdered Indigenous women, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Finland’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission makes 70 recommendations, Eye on the Arctic
Greenland: Denmark’s PM apologizes in person to Greenland women over forced contraception, Reuters
Norway: Can cross-border cooperation help decolonize Sami-language education, Eye on the Arctic
Sweden: Sami in Sweden start work on structure of Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Eye on the Arctic
United States: Apology long overdue for U.S. Indian boarding schools, says former student, Alaska Public Media
