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Give me my child back

The Greenlandic parents fighting for the return of their children.

Greenlandic parents across Denmark are fighting to be reunited with their children who were taken into care after authorities used ‘parenting competency tests’ as part of assessments to judge their ability to raise them. After banning the tests for use on Greenlandic people, the Danish government has now pledged to review around 300 cases where a child was forcibly removed from their parents. The World Service’s global health reporter Sofia Bettiza hears from those who argue what happened to them was cruel and unjust . She speaks to a Greenlandic mother and father who can't visit their son anymore because he's been adopted by another family. The programme explores what these parenting competency tests are and why they were used in the first place. The Danish politician in charge of the review explains how their court system gets involved in making custody decisions and why it won’t be possible or appropriate to return every Greenlandic child to their biological parents.

Release date:

27 minutes

On radio

Thu 19 Feb 2026 02:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 19 Feb 2026 02:32GMT
  • Thu 19 Feb 2026 09:32GMT
  • Thu 19 Feb 2026 20:06GMT
  • Thu 19 Feb 2026 21:06GMT
  • Sun 22 Feb 2026 00:32GMT
  • Sun 22 Feb 2026 05:32GMT
  • Sun 22 Feb 2026 14:06GMT
  • Sun 22 Feb 2026 22:32GMT