A group of indigenous women in Greenland are suing Denmark over an involuntary birth control campaign launched in the 1960s.
The 143 Inuit women say Danish health authorities violated their human rights when they fitted them with intrauterine contraceptive devices in the 1960s and 1970s.
The devices, commonly known as coils, are made from plastic and copper and fitted in the uterus, preventing sperm from fertilising an egg.
The campaign was aimed at limiting population growth in Greenland – the population of the Arctic island was booming at the time, thanks to the high standard of living and healthcare.
Records uncovered by Danish broadcaster DR in 2022 showed 4,500 intrauterine devices were fitted between 1966 and 1970 to women and girls as young as 13 without their knowledge or consent.
The women, now in their 70s and 80s, are seeking 300,000 Danish krone (£34,500) each in compensation.
The Danish state said it is still investigating the extent of the cases and the decision-making process behind the campaign.
Health Minister Sophie Lohde said: “This is a deeply unfortunate case that we must get to the bottom of and, therefore, an independent investigation has also been initiated.”
The investigation’s conclusions are expected to be made public next year.
But Naja Lyberth, who was 14 when she had a coil fitted, said the group could not wait until then.
“The oldest of us are over 80 years old and, therefore, we cannot wait any longer,” she told Greenland public broadcaster KNR.
“As long as we live, we want to regain our self-respect and respect for our wombs.”
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Marie Petrussen was 16 when she had a coil inserted and, now 70, she said: “I didn’t feel like I could do anything – we had no rights.”
She told KNR: “As a person, I don’t get that angry. I’m just extremely sorry for the experiences I’ve had.”
Greenland became a constituency of the Danish kingdom in 1953.
It was granted home rule in 1979, took control of its health sector in 1992, and won self-government in 2009, although Denmark still has control over several policy areas.
The women’s case is not the first time Greenlandic people say they have suffered at the hands of Danish authorities.
Four years ago, Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen apologised to 22 children who were removed from their homes in Greenland in the 1950s as part of a social experiment.
The idea was to re-educate children and give them a “better life” in mainland Denmark before they returned to be examples of Greenland-Denmark relations.
Many of the children never saw their families again.
Ms Frederiksen said the children had “lost their ties to their families and lineage, their life history, to Greenland and, thus, to their own people”.
