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2w ago

Denmark’s Prime Minister Apologizes in Nuuk for Forced Contraception of Greenlandic Women

The apology follows an inquiry that documented widespread non‑consensual contraception, with a pledge to create a reconciliation fund.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks during a meeting in the cultural center, in Nuuk, Greenland, September 24, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS
An Inuit woman stands with her back towards Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, left, as she talks during a meeting in a cultural center in Nuuk, Greenland, on Sept. 24, 2025.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen attend a meeting in the cultural center, in Nuuk, Greenland, September 24, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen/via REUTERS
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Overview

  • At a Sept. 24 ceremony in Nuuk, Mette Frederiksen delivered an in‑person apology to Inuit women and girls subjected to involuntary birth control, with Greenland’s leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen also addressing survivors.
  • An independent investigation found roughly 4,000–4,500 females, some as young as 12, were fitted with IUDs or given hormonal injections without informed consent between the late 1960s and 1991/92.
  • Victims reported serious physical and psychological harm, including prolonged pain, infections and infertility, with hundreds of documented complication cases in the inquiry.
  • Frederiksen announced a reconciliation fund intended to provide financial compensation to victims and other Greenlanders who faced systemic discrimination, with specifics yet to be set out.
  • A lawsuit by about 143–150 women seeking compensation is ongoing in Danish courts, and a separate legal review assessing possible criminal classifications is due to report in early 2026.