Denmark compensates Greenlandic women harmed by forced IUDs
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Patienterstatningen, a Danish agency, has awarded compensation to 122 women from Greenland who were fitted with intrauterine devices (IUDs) without their knowledge or consent.
From 1960 to 1991, the Danish state fitted IUDs to Greenlandic girls and women, and this practice continued for a period after Greenland took over its healthcare system in 1992.
A 2025 investigation revealed at least 4070 Greenlandic women had received IUDs by the end of the 1970s, and many also received the Depo-Provera contraceptive against their will. The Danish Parliament approved payments of 300,000 kroner to affected women last month, and the compensation scheme began accepting applications on July 1st of this year. Patienterstatningen estimates each case takes around three months to evaluate.
So far, 572 women have applied for compensation, and the application deadline extends to September 1, 2028. Denmark and Greenland formally apologized for the practice in 2025, but a recent government review could not determine if the actions constituted genocide.
