On September 9, 2025, the findings of a long-awaited independent investigation were released, revealing that more than 350 Greenlandic Indigenous women and girls—some as young as 12—were forcibly given contraception by Danish health authorities in cases stretching back to the 1960s. According to reports by Associated Press and The Independent, these traumatic procedures were carried out without the victims’ knowledge or consent, leaving a legacy of shame, pain, and physical complications that has haunted generations of Inuit families.
The investigation, launched on June 1, 2023, in response to mounting media scrutiny and public outcry, documented 488 instances of forced contraception between 1960 and the end of 1991. The vast majority of the women and girls affected were teenagers at the time. Some were even younger—one case involved a girl under 12, though her exact age was withheld to protect her anonymity. The victims were either fitted with intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs, sometimes called coils) or given hormonal birth control injections. As Los Angeles Times reported, these procedures were performed with little to no explanation, and, crucially, without any form of informed consent.
Many of the women who came forward to participate in the investigation are now between 48 and 89 years old. Their testimonies paint a harrowing picture: physical side effects ranging from persistent pain and bleeding to severe infections, alongside deep psychological scars. Some described the experience as deeply humiliating, while others recounted a lasting sense of shame. The full scale of the practice may have been even larger than the report’s 488 documented cases; Danish authorities have stated that more than 4,000, and possibly as many as 4,500, women and girls—reportedly half the fertile women in Greenland at the time—were fitted with IUDs between the 1960s and mid-1970s.
The rationale behind these actions, according to official records cited by Associated Press, was to curb rapid population growth in Greenland. The population on the vast Arctic island was surging at the time, thanks to improved living conditions and better healthcare services. Danish officials sought to limit pregnancies among Greenland’s Indigenous population, a policy that many now see as part of a broader pattern of colonial control and dehumanization.
The forced contraception scandal is only the latest chapter in a long and painful history of Danish colonial policies targeting Greenland’s Indigenous peoples. For centuries, Denmark imposed measures that separated Inuit children from their families, sending them to Danish foster homes for “reeducation,” and introduced controversial parental competency tests that resulted in the forced breakup of families. Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, then a province, before being granted home rule in 1979 and ultimately becoming a self-governing entity in 2009. The island remains part of the Danish realm, though it has managed its own healthcare system only since January 1, 1992.
The release of the report has prompted high-level apologies from both the Danish and Greenlandic governments. In August 2025, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark and Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland issued a joint statement expressing regret for their countries’ roles in the historic mistreatment. An official apology event is scheduled to take place in Greenland’s capital on September 24, 2025, signaling what many hope will be a turning point in relations between Denmark and its former colony.
Legal accountability is also being sought. Nearly 150 Inuit women initiated lawsuits against Denmark in 2024, filing compensation claims against the Danish health ministry and alleging violations of their human rights. That case remains ongoing, and advocates say it could set a precedent for how European states reckon with the legacies of colonial-era abuses.
The report’s findings have reignited broader debates about colonialism, reproductive rights, and the treatment of Indigenous populations. According to The Independent, the women and girls subjected to forced contraception were rarely, if ever, given full information about what was being done to them. In many cases, they only learned the truth years later, sometimes after suffering unexplained health problems or discovering they could not conceive.
Greenland’s rapid population growth was cited as justification for the campaign, but critics argue that the policy was rooted in a desire to exert control over the Indigenous population. As the investigation noted, such measures were part and parcel of centuries of Danish efforts to “civilize” and assimilate Greenlanders, often at the expense of their autonomy and dignity.
The scandal has also emerged at a time of renewed international focus on Greenland. The island’s strategic location and mineral wealth have attracted attention from global powers, most notably the United States. Recent headlines have seen former U.S. President Donald Trump expressing interest in bringing Greenland under U.S. jurisdiction, even refusing to rule out military action. Danish and Greenlandic leaders have firmly rejected such overtures, insisting that the island is not for sale. Meanwhile, reports have surfaced of covert influence operations in Greenland linked to individuals close to Trump, prompting Denmark’s foreign minister to summon the top U.S. diplomat for urgent talks.
For many Greenlanders, the revelations about forced contraception are a painful reminder of their fraught relationship with Denmark—and a call to confront the lingering effects of colonialism. The apology, while welcomed by some, is seen by others as only the first step toward justice. The ongoing legal battle, the scheduled apology event, and the continuing public debate suggest that the process of reckoning with the past is far from over.
As the world turns its attention to Greenland’s future, the voices of the women and girls affected by these policies serve as a powerful reminder: history’s wounds do not heal easily, and the path to reconciliation demands both truth and accountability.