Denmark’s Minister of Social Affairs Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil on Monday apologized on behalf of the country for the abuse children have suffered over decades.
Thousands of children and adults with disabilities were held in state institutions and subjected to forced sterilization, sexual assault, and other abuse.
When did the abuse occur?
At various times between 1933 and 1980, approximately 15,000 children and adults with various disabilities were sent to state institutions. One of the reasons for placing them under “special care” was to protect society. This concern is thought to be at least partially rooted in the theory of eugenics. The idea of eugenics, which aims to improve the genetic quality of the human population, has historically been used to eliminate or target certain groups deemed inferior, most notoriously by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
In Denmark, people with disabilities such as blindness, epilepsy, physical disabilities, and mental disorders were housed in state institutions.
Forced sterilization of mentally ill patients was also carried out between 1929 and 1967. Until 1989, patients had to obtain special permission from the authorities to marry.
Denmark’s previous government ordered an investigation which uncovered a range of abuses at the centres in 2020, including violence, psychological and sexual abuse and gross negligence in medical treatment.
In 1980, Parliament decentralised the special care sector, handing its responsibility over to local authorities.
Minister’s Statement
Rosenkrantz-Theil described the period of abuse as “one of the darkest in Danish history”.
“Society should look after its citizens but the opposite is happening here,” the minister said.
“Of course, an apology cannot change the past, but it can help us take responsibility for what happened and acknowledge that wrongdoing was done.”
“In the name of the Danish nation, in the name of the government, I am sorry,” she said.
“What happened to you is far below what we believe to be the standards of Denmark. We will never forget what happened to you, and what happened to you will never happen again.”
The minister made the apology at an event in the western city of Horsens for around 50 victims of the policy.
One of them, Hanne Klitgaard Larsen, also spoke at the event.
“There are many more people who will be guilty for the rest of their lives than you think,” Danish newspaper Politiken quoted Klitgaard Larsen as saying. “The apology means a lot today because it extends into the future, and there is a promise that in the future we will no longer see humanity in this way,” Larsen said.