Naja Lyberth

Naja Lyberth
Born1962
Greenland
Occupation(s)psychologist, women's rights activist
Awards100 Women (BBC) (2022)

Naja Lyberth (born 1962) is a Greenlandic psychologist and women's rights activist known for her campaign against birth control policies called Danish Coil Campaign in Greenland for Inuit women without their consent. In December 2022, she was named as one of BBC's 100 Women.[1]

Biography

In 1976, at the age of 13, after a routine medical examination at school, a doctor asked Lyberth to go to the hospital for inserting intrauterine contraceptive device as a part of the birth control practice that affected about 4,500 Inuit women and girls in the 1960s and 1970s.[2] In 2017, Lyberth was among the first people to publicly discuss the spiral campaign; she wrote on Facebook about her experiences.[3] She also created a Facebook group to allow people to share their experiences and help each other cope with trauma. More than 70 women joined the group and some shared that they had problems, pain and complications in getting pregnant.[4]

Lyberth said in 2022 that the coil campaign "stole" her virginity, caused her pain, may have caused complications for her later in life, and continued to traumatise her into adulthood.[5] In December 2022, Lyberth was included in the 100 Women list by BBC.[6]

References

  1. ^ News Mundo, BBC (2022-10-01). ""Se sentía como cuchillos dentro de mi": el polémico plan de control de natalidad implementando por Dinamarca a mujeres innuit de Groenlandia". El Comercio (in Spanish). ISSN 1605-3052. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  2. ^ Masclans, Núria Vila (2022-06-18). "L'anticoncepció forçada de Dinamarca que va reduir a la meitat la natalitat de Groenlàndia". Ara.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  3. ^ "Inuit Greenland Women Demand Answers, Justice in Birth Control Scandal | History News Network". historynewsnetwork.org. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  4. ^ "'Doctors fitted a contraceptive coil without my consent'". BBC News. 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  5. ^ "Naja Lyberth fik påtvunget spiral som 14-årig: - Det føltes som om, at der var knive inden i mig". KNR (in Danish). Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  6. ^ "Quiénes son las 100 Mujeres influyentes e inspiradoras elegidas por la BBC en 2022 (y cuáles son las 12 de América Latina) - BBC News Mundo". News Mundo. Retrieved 2023-06-14.