The Governments of Denmark and Greenland apologize to Inuit women for medical mistreatment
Press Release
Ottawa, Ontario – September 26, 2026 — This week, Inuit women in Kalaallit Nunaat/Greenland received an apology from the Governments of Denmark and Greenland for the forced use of contraceptives on Inuit women and girls from the 1960s to the 1990s.
The apology, held in Nuuk, Kalaallit Nunaat on September 24, 2025, comes after over 400 Inuit women detailed their medical mistreatment in a report released earlier this month, and after a lawsuit was filed against the governments by Kalaallit Inuit women in 2024.
Doctors fitted Inuit women and girls, some as young as 12 years of age, with intrauterine devices (IUDs or coils/spirals) or given other contraceptives without their knowledge or consent, in a government-approved effort to curb the population growth of Inuit in the then-Danish colony and province.
“Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada stands with the Inuit women of Kalaallit Nunaat and sends strength and healing in the acknowledgement and aftermath of decades of medical abuse and dehumanization,” says Nikki Komaksiutiksak, President and CEO of Pauktuutit.
“Inuit women and gender-diverse Inuit have the right to informed consent and the autonomy to make decisions about their health, their bodies, when to use contraceptives, and whether to conceive. Inuit have human rights that must be protected, upheld, and defended.”
Pauktuutit also acknowledges that there is an on-going issue with forcing contraceptives and sterilization on Indigenous women in Canada. We will continue to advocate for the rights and priorities of Inuit women in Canada and call on medical practitioners and governments to implement stronger structures to ensure Inuit and Indigenous women are able to make informed choices for their own health and well-being. We also look forward to the approval of the proposed amendments to the Canadian criminal code(opens in a new tab) that would criminalize forced and coerced sterilization in Canada.
For more information on the apology to Inuit women in Kalaallit Nunaat/Greenland, visit Markering af undskyldning i spiralsagen og drøftelser om en forsoningsfond – Statsministeriet(opens in a new tab)
To read the “Impartial I<Contraception Practices in Kalaallit Nunaat”, visit:
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Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada Is the national non-profit organization representing all Inuit women in Canada. Its mission is to foster a greater awareness of the needs of Inuit women and to encourage their participation in community, regional and national concerns in relation to social, cultural, and economic development.
For more information, please contact: communications@pauktuutit.ca(opens in a new tab).
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