Greenland Examines Forced Contraception Allegations Against Inuit Community
Greenland is investigating allegations of forced contraception schemes affecting the Inuit community from the 1960s and 70s, with findings currently deemed not final. A truth and reconciliation commission is being established to address the violations of women's rights.
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Greenland is forming a truth and reconciliation commission to address a forced contraceptive scheme affecting at least 4,000 Greenlandic Inuits, including girls as young as 12, from the 1960s to the 1990s. A joint Danish-Greenlandic inquiry found that Danish authorities aimed to reduce birth rates under the guise of improving living standards, but experts could not unanimously determine if this constituted genocide, prompting calls for international judicial involvement. Following Denmark's apology for "systematic discrimination" last year, the Danish parliament has approved compensation of up to 300,000 Danish crowns (approximately $46,758) for the affected women.
Greenland's justice minister, Marianne Paviasen, stated that the government cannot determine if genocide was committed against the Inuit community regarding forced contraception practices from the 1960s-70s, despite existing reports. Between 1966 and 1970, 4,500 Greenlandic women and girls, some as young as 13, had intra-uterine devices (IUDs) implanted without consent, which slowed population growth; Denmark has since passed a law to compensate each affected woman 300,000 Danish crowns (approximately $46,800). The report findings were conflicted, with one panel suggesting the possibility of genocidal intent but not establishing genocide based solely on contraceptive practices, while another found no indications of intent to destroy the Greenlandic population.