In her documentary, Pavy investigates the long-term effects of birth control procedures Danish physicians performed on Inuit Greenlanders throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
In the spiralkampagnen (“coil campaign”), thousands of Inuit women and girls—some as young as 12—were fitted with intrauterine devices (IUDs) without their consent. This is the subject of the series.
The images include panoramic views of Nuuk and its medical facilities, as well as X-ray pictures and old portraits of the young ladies who were part of the project.
A Nuuk psychologist named Naja Lyberth was among the first to testify about being forcedly sterilized. She created a Facebook group where women could connect and support one another in overcoming trauma.
When Jytte Lyberth had the IUD implanted, she was 14 years old. She’s never been able to conceive since then.
