Greenlandic Women Achieve Legal Victory over Fight with the Danish State over Forced IUD Affair.

Survivors of a past program in which thousands comprising Inuit women and girls were forcibly fitted with intrauterine devices (IUDs) absent informed permission are declaring victory following their court battle against Copenhagen.

Officials have announced that they are now entitled to compensation from a settlement fund.

Government Settlement Finalized

Folketinget, along with the government, reached an agreement granting approximately four thousand five hundred Greenlandic women the right to seek 300,000 DKK (around thirty-five thousand pounds) each.

This decision comes after a lengthy campaign by 143 women who initiated legal proceedings seeking damages for the pain and suffering they experienced, which they said constituted a breach of their personal rights.

Historical Background

The Danish state ruled Greenland under colonial rule for decades maintaining control of its medical services into the late 20th century.

Earlier this year, after years where it did not address these actions, Denmark made an expression of regret. The prime minister expressed sorrow for the “institutional prejudice” against Greenlandic females by the Danish healthcare system.

“These actions caused significant impacts on the Greenlandic women who have experienced not only physical but also psychological harm,” stated the senior official.

Redress Procedure Details

Authorities clarified those who were given the procedure without their knowledge or consent during a thirty-one year period would be able to seek compensation starting next year. The law is set to be enacted by mid-year.

According to results of an independent investigation into contraceptive practices during that time, an estimated four and a half thousand women may be eligible for compensation.

For eligibility, applicants will need to:

• Provide a “plausible account” detailing what happened.
• Have lived in Greenland throughout the qualifying period.
• Declare under oath that they possessed no awareness or consent for the procedure.

Voices of Survivors

One of the women, recalling being fourteen when she was instructed to report to the hospital for no clear reason, said the experience like an assault.

“Our activism publicly to the media has been effective,” she said. “It began in 2022 and now a relatively short time we have secured an apology and financial acknowledgment.”

A different perspective expressed happiness, saying, “This is a positive outcome. As my mother put it: it's a victory.” Although there is a view the compensation could have been higher, there is contentment over the recognition of what happened.

Ministerial Responses

An Inuit minister called the compensation being “well past due”. Stating clearly, “It is not about the money. It concerns formal acknowledgment of the hurt and the very severe consequences.”

A Danish health minister conceded the scandal was a “troubling period in our joint past”, noting that compensation “cannot remove the pain from the women” yet it “serves to recognize and express regret over what they endured.”