1y ago

‘Get on a plane’: Danish minister urged to meet Greenland coil scandal women

www.theguardian.com

The Danish health minister should “get on a plane and visit” some of the thousands of women thought to be living with the consequences of being forcibly fitted with the contraceptive coil as children, Greenland’s gender equality minister has said.

In an attempt to reduce the population of the former Danish colony, at least 4,500 women and girls are believed to have undergone the medical procedure, usually without their consent or knowledge, at the hands of Danish doctors between 1966 and 1970 alone.

The total number of those affected by the procedures, thought to have continued for decades, is understood to be far higher. Victims and their lawyers say generations of Inuit women were left traumatised and suffering reproductive complications, including infertility, as a result of the Danish state’s policy.

Earlier this month, a group of 143 women sued the Danish state over the alleged violations, but they have yet to receive a response from the government, despite the Danish prime minister visiting Greenland – now an autonomous territory of Denmark – soon after.

93 comments

This is such a horrible case and it's disgusting that Greenland have had to open their own investigation of it while Denmark keeps ignoring it.
Large pieces of copper were forced into the bodies of children as young as 12 during "routine" medical exams at school. With disastrous effects.
For several decades, Lyberth repressed her trauma. “I think I was so ashamed that I didn’t want to remember or talk about it,” she says. But the consequences for her body soon became apparent – and lasting.
IUDs are normally effective for a period of up to ten years, after which they can cause complications such as infections and infertility. The ones forced upon young girls in Greenland were larger than modern devices.
“I had intense period pains, with enormous bleeding that forced me to stay at home,” she explains. It was only when she reached menopause, at around 50, that she realised the cause of her suffering.
“I started having circulation problems and ovarian cysts. I was in so much pain that the doctors were considering removing my uterus,” she says. “That’s when it all came back to me.”
From this article from a few months back.
a very white way of thinking
Can people nowadays state an opinion without being racist?
Other than that the story is horrible. It won't fix the problem for many (most?) of them, but I hope they get as much money as they can by suing the government.
- Pretty ironic though. That comment was in the context of talking about how easy it is for people to dismiss the abuse these Indigenous women went through.
  Cue, an entire comment section that is mostly focussed on discussing whether white people feel attacked, than the decades of hell these women endured.
  
  Which goes to show how you undermine your own important message if you lace it with your own racist language.
- Reverse racism is bullshit because "white" as a category is only exclusionary. It does not exist to acknowledge any culture or nationality. I am white but would lose nothing from my identity if the concept were abolished tomorrow.
  It is a political category that exists purely to discriminate against those who fall outside of it. In that sense, this eugenics program was indeed "a very white way of thinking".
  You don't have to identify with that if you're white. You can reject the concept of race as being valid - it is unscientific and entirely socially constructed - whilst still recognising that racial categories and racism have real consqeuences and do real harm.
  EDIT: I'm not interested in continuing to debate with people who have no interest in understanding. For anyone who actually cares to educate themselves, here is some information.
  Dictionary definitions of racism aren't enough, you need to actually study the subject. This is a decent article on the subject, which paraphrases my favourite saying on the matter, "noticing racism is not the real racism": https://www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/news-events/news/what-is-reverse-racism-and-whats-wrong-with-the-term
  And they reference this paper, which gives an academic definition of racism: Racism equals power plus prejudice: A social psychological equation for racial oppression.
  Racism requires a power imbalance on a societal level. Without that, you can have prejudicial attitudes, but they don't rise to the level of racism. As a white person, you can say whatever you want about white people to me and it doesn't threaten me much, because white people are not oppressed in our society.
  
  As a mixed-race individual, it's not about whether race is a valid identifier in any objective sense or not. Our society still puts a great deal of emphasis on race regardless.
  I wouldn't consider my identity particularly 'white', but when that's used to denigrate me, like I'm only part-valid? That feels like shit. Something between rage and absolute isolation.
  
  Your point fails to recognize that the US isn't the only country in the world. 'black' as a concept makes no sense on the global scale either and the internet does exist in other countries too.
  
  Reverse racism is bullshit because "white" as a category is only exclusionary. It does not exist to acknowledge any culture or nationality. I am white but would lose nothing from my identity if the concept were abolished tomorrow.
  That's a nice point actually
  I would be considered white now in the US, but 120 years ago, I wouldn't have been.
  And personally, I don't identify one way or the other, because it's not an aspect I measure people by.
  
  There's nothing reverse about it, it's plain racism.
  This is the definition:
  prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.
  Except the minority everything checks out. Note the word "typically" when referring to minority.
  Unless you want to change the definition of racism (which many of you fellas seem to want to), racism against white people is just racism, nothing "reverse" about it.
  
  Thank you for saying it. :)
- Can people nowadays state an opinion without being racist?
  Expressions like "a very white way of thinking" and "sounds about white" aren't racist. They're not about race at all, they're about privilege.
  It's basically using "white" as a shorthand for "privileged people not aware of their own privilege or the challenges of others, many of whom are white".
  Other than that the story is horrible. It won't fix the problem for many (most?) of them, but I hope they get as much money as they can by suing the government.
  Speaking as a Dane, I agree almost 100%. Our government treated inuits absolutely atrociously in the bad old days and it's caused immense harm. They deserve to get reparations without having to go through the hassle of a lawsuit first.
  
  It’s basically using “white” as a shorthand for “privileged people not aware of their own privilege or the challenges of others, many of whom are white”.
  So you could conceivably call someone who is Black but otherwise belonging to privileged groups 'white'?
  Check, please!
  
  Oh, that's nonsense. Sure, what might be underneath is about privilege, but, you know, being white myself I haven't had much privilege. Because my family was on the extremely poor side of things.
  Sure, being in Europe in itself is a privilege, but that goes for black/asian/other people living in Europe as well. Other than that, I'm as white as they come, but I didn't have any privilege, except those I fought hard for. Turns out privilege doesn't have much with skin color, but is caused by capital and money.
  So, it's the same as treating all black people as criminals, to dig out another stereotype. Sure, there are statistical reasons to say that (as are for the so-called white privilege), but it's incredibly racist to treat black people as criminals by default (as is attributing shortcomings of the privileged to white people). Believe me, most white people I knew growing up weren't what you'd call privileged.
  I don't think I ask for too much when I don't want people to use my skin color to mean something bad, do I? Like, have we learned nothing? It's frankly disgusting that racism against me is allowed because it's socially acceptable. Racism against black people and Jewish people used to be socially acceptable, too. And I for one really dislike racism because it's stupid and I don't particularly care which group you're being racist to.
  To chronic downvoters: If you only downvote without providing your thoughts on the topic, your opinion on this topic is as important as my dog's.
  They deserve to get reparations without having to go through the hassle of a lawsuit first.
  That would be nice, but what government wants to pay for their mistakes?

93 comments