Five women help Greenlanders seek DKK 300,000 compensation

A five-member outreach team has completed a month-long journey along Greenland’s west coast to help women apply for compensation after receiving contraception from Danish doctors without their consent, DR reports. The Danish state has approved payments of DKK 300,000 for eligible women.

The team’s final stop was Nuuk, where around 90 women attended an information meeting at a community hall. Its members had planned to visit seven towns and settlements, and team leader Line Specht said they managed to reach them all despite cancellations and delays.

When a storm grounded their flight to Maniitsoq, the team hired a boat and travelled for four hours through rough seas to make it to a scheduled meeting.

Patienterstatningen, the Danish body responsible for administering the compensation scheme, says women can apply online. But Specht said the in-person meetings helped reach women who might not otherwise apply. The team explains the scheme and helps attendees complete applications. It includes a Greenlandic interpreter and translator, a psychologist, a communications specialist and a former district court judge who assists with legal questions.

The journey was the first of three planned trips. The team must pause its travels for winter and expects to resume in spring, when it plans to reach communities in southern and eastern Greenland.

Patienterstatningen has received more than 900 applications so far. Specht expects the number to rise following the large turnout in Nuuk. She said the agency cannot rule out attempts to misuse the scheme, but its task is to ensure women can apply for the compensation they are entitled to.