A Greenlandic mother’s one-hour-old baby was removed from her by Danish authorities after she underwent “parenting competence” tests – despite a new law banning the use of the controversial psychometric assessments on people with Greenlandic backgrounds.
Ivana Nikoline Brønlund, who was born in Nuuk to Greenlandic parents and has played for the Greenlandic handball team, gave birth to her daughter, Aviaja-Luuna, on 11 August in a hospital in Hvidovre, near Copenhagen, where she lives with her family.
An hour later, the local municipality took the infant into foster care. Brønlund, 18, says she has since only seen her daughter once, for an hour, when she was not allowed to comfort the baby or change her nappy.
The “parenting competence” tests, known as FKU (forældrekompetenceundersøgelse), were banned on people with Greenlandic backgrounds earlier this year after years of criticism by campaigners and human rights bodies, who argued successfully that the tests were racist because they were culturally unsuitable for people from Inuit backgrounds. As the law came into force in May, campaigners are asking why Brønlund was still subjected to a test.
The Danish social affairs minister, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, has said she was concerned by the reports and had requested the municipality behind the decision, Høje-Taastrup, to explain its handling of the case. “Standardised tests should not be used in placement cases involving families with a Greenlandic background. The law is clear,” she said.
Brønlund’s case has prompted protests in Greenland, with further protests planned in Nuuk, Copenhagen, Reykjavík and Belfast.
Brønlund was told that her baby was removed because of the trauma she had suffered at the hands of her adoptive father, who is in prison for sexually abusing her. The municipality told her she was “not Greenlandic enough” for the new law banning the tests to apply, despite her being born in Greenland of Greenlandic parents.
Local authorities started the testing on her in April – after an announcement in January that the ban was coming in. They completed the tests in June, at which point the law was in force. Brønlund was told three weeks before giving birth that her child would be taken away.
The municipality declined to comment, saying it was bound by confidentiality. But it has admitted to faults in its processes and said it was seeking to ensure the family’s legal requirements were met and “the best possible solution” for the family.
Brønlund told the Guardian: “I didn’t want to go into labour because I knew what would happen afterwards. I would keep my baby nearby me when she was in my stomach, that was the closest I would be with her. It was a very rough and horrible time.”
She said her first meeting with her daughter, earlier this week, was cut short early because the baby was believed to be overtired and overstimulated.
“My heart broke when she [the supervisor] stopped the time. I was so sad, I cried out to the car and in the car. It was so fast that we had to leave,” she said, through tears. “My heart is so broken, I don’t know what to do without her.”
Brønlund is allowed to see her baby, under supervision, only once a fortnight for two hours at a time. Her appeal will be heard on 16 September.
Brønlund’s adoptive mother, Gitte, who is half-Greenlandic and lived there until she was 37, said: “It feels like you are not allowed to have a trauma if you are going to be a mum.”
Campaigners have called on the Danish government to take urgent action to help Brønlund. Dida Pipaluk Jensen, who is co-organising a demonstration in the Icelandic capital outside the Danish embassy on 18 September, said the way the tests were being used on Greenlandic people was “horrifying”.
Campaigners have also held a protest in support of another Greenlandic mother, Keira Alexandra Kronvold, whose case prompted a global outcry after Danish authorities forcibly removed her daughter Zammi two hours after her birth. They are still separated.
Of Brønlund’s case, Pipaluk Jensen said: “One of the reasons the municipality stated for the removal of her daughter was because of previous trauma in Ivana’s life. This feels so wrong to punish Ivana for something she is not responsible for.”
Laila Bertelsen, the founder of Foreningen MAPI, an association that helps Inuit parents in Denmark, has written to the minister urging her to intervene. She wrote: “Here we are faced with a failure of both child and mother, which requires immediate political action.”
Hæstorp Andersen, who is due to visit Greenland in September, said any municipality considering placing a child with a Greenlandic background in care, or considering using FKU tests on Greenlandic families, “must instead use a special unit known as VISO”.
Anya Krogh Manghezi, the director of children and youth at Høje-Taastrup municipality, said: “Based on the case and the criticism raised, we have taken a closer look at our case processing. We assessed that we showed due diligence by contacting VISO already in January, but we must acknowledge that we should have repeated the contact, as the legal basis finally fell into place three months after April 29, 2025.
“We are therefore now in close dialogue with VISO on how we can get advice on an updated basis as soon as possible. We are only interested in ensuring that the family’s legal requirements are met and that the best possible solution is found for the family.”
