There are two stories to tell. The first of these concerns the way in which Denmark wanted to control the population growth of Greenland’s indigenous population, the Inuit. Second, a French photojournalist learned about this forced sterilization program and decided to document what happened. The two are intertwined, though decades separate them.
So let’s start first. The Danish government felt that Greenland’s modernization in the 1950s was detrimental to the state, as the increasing Inuit population – Colonial word “Eskimo” It was replaced by local terms – which were deemed too expensive for the public exchequer. This modernization is based on: a boom A construction project in that autonomous region of Denmark in the Arctic attracted many workers from the country’s mainland, and this migration flow had an effect you might have already guessed: an increase in the number of pregnancies among young women.
But that wasn’t the only outcome that worried the country’s authorities. As construction workers stayed on the island for a while, the number of single mothers also kept pace boom Construction in Greenland (Kalalith nunat, “our land”, in Greenlandic, or Grønland, “green land”, in Danish). They were boom Further
Naja Lieberth, a psychologist in Nuuk, was one of the first women to speak out about her forced sterilization, addressing her personal case in 2019 in a local newspaper. She created a group with other women on Facebook in 2022, following the revelation of the existence of the Danish compulsory sterilization policy.©Juliet Pavey
The state was not prepared to care for many single mothers, who were considered a barrier to development, because caring for their children prevented them from continuing their studies, receiving professional training, and actively participating in the new job market. In the name of Greenland’s modernization vision.
The problem had to be solved. as? Simple: the Danish government implemented a forced sterilization program without the consent of the majority of Inuit children, youth and affected women. There are those who believe that the program was secretly used on at least 4,500 women between 1960 and 1975, at least until recently.
During this decade and a half, 4,500 intrauterine devices (IUDs) were inserted into many women, some of them as young as 12 years old – half of the women of childbearing age living on the island at the time.
Manitsok Hospital Gynecology Office. In the 1990s, obstetrician Aviaja Siegstad took in women who didn’t know they had a “whirlpool.” He tested these women for infertility and realized they had IUDs©JULIETTE PAVY
Cobra Tyrantum Gragard This Amalie Hockfeld AmbrosiusThe authors of an article on the topic, one of them Greenlandic, M Many of the victims were “pubescent adolescents, not even sexually active, and were sent directly from school to the doctor’s office by their teacher to have the IUD inserted without their parents’ involvement or consent. Some girls also reported that they were not told about the IUD insertion during their doctor’s gynecological examination, so the years went unexplained. experienced infertility and associated physical problems.”
This secret was only revealed in 2022, through series five Podcasts was invited Spiralcompagnon Spiralcompagnen – meaning like the spiral campaign, but also known as the IUD campaign – was investigated and condemned by two journalists and led to the creation of a commission to manage the problem, identify responsibilities and consider compensation until the end. This year. Once here, it’s time to tell the second story.
Half a lost generation
Juliet Pavy is a French photojournalist. Freelancer Co-founder of Photojournalists Collective Hourly design . “What brings us together is a common desire to tell deep stories about relevant topics in France and around the world,” Juliet tells P3. “We promote our work in different ways (printed publications, books, exhibitions and stories on Instagram) to reach different audiences.
Juliet Bavi She is versatile in her photographic expression and interest. However, there are two or three main lines. Beginning with the fact that he became interested in the Arctic a decade ago, the place he often returns to is evident in his striking photographs. First pages freedom At COP 28 or when thawing is an issue on the agenda.
“The fact that I am a photojournalist influences my approach. I start with real facts, testimonies, interviews and archival photos to create and create my story for documentary photography. I try to collect as much information as possible to tell the story in the best possible way through images”, he summarizes with the clarity of concise speech.
Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, is located on the west coast and has a population of 19,000. This is where Naya Liberth lives, one of the first women to speak out publicly about forced sterilization as a teenager.©Juliet Pavey
Knowing about this, Bavi did the same Spiralcompagnen when Podcasts Distributed on platforms in the same post Streaming And came across a summary in the local press about forced sterilization of women during the Danish colonial period, and decided to “deepen this topic”.
The photographer followed his usual method: he collected facts, testimonies and archival photographs to create and create his documentary photo story. “For Greenlanders, this story is one of many related to the Danish colonial era. The fact that the case received media attention and was investigated gave the victims a chance to speak out after keeping it a secret for almost 50 years. Now, they know they are not alone.
Also, Juliet, what are the victims saying? “It continues to be a traumatic event for them and even today it’s a challenge to talk about it. In addition to the physical pain and for some, a myriad of health problems, there is also the trauma of not being able to have children.
Documentary work by Juliet Bavi — accompanied Spiralkampänen: forced sterilization and unplanned sterilization among Greenlandic women what won the Photographer of the Year award in Sony World Photography Awards Last April – The campaign included photographs of victims, sterilization clinics, X-ray images revealing the device inside the bodies or members of the commission appointed to study its effects.
The photographer says he trusts the judiciary to conduct the investigation effectively: “I asked women who had abortions and, in general, they wanted an official apology and acknowledgment of what happened. Additionally, they also seek financial compensation, although this is not their priority.
X-ray showing the “spiral” IUD used during the 1966 to 1975 Greenland women’s contraception campaign (Spiralkampänen)© Juliet Pavey
When Jytte Lyberth was 14 years old, she was taken to the hospital after hiring a doctor at school. Months later, she felt severe pain from the IUD and returned to the hospital for surgery. From that day he was childless ©JULIETTE PAVY
The revelation of this hidden propaganda forced the country to confront its past. Many authors consider this case as an example of how the Danish state “ Danish used medicalization discourses to control women and their reproduction “This is what “ Reveals deep colonial and racist mechanisms of systematic subjugation of women, girls and bodies K Allalides “ .
As Dyrendom Graugaard and Amalie Høgfeldt Ambrosius conclude, this arbitrary sterilization calls into question the image of “Danes as colonialists” and reminds us that, like the debate in other European countries, historians have sought to explain colonial atrocities. of their time” which can be framed in the “imperial logic of the past.
However, they say, “The colonial amnesia that exceptionalist and interpretive approaches to Danish colonial history tend to create cannot mitigate what happened. And what happened was a coercive and strategic move to control population.” They conclude: “Use of the Danish IUD Kalalids It should also be understood as a genocidal practice, designed to prevent births, resulting in the loss of half a generation.
