The dark history of Sprogø Island has been captured in a new Danish film

At this time, between 400 and 500 women were transferred to the institution on the island halfway between Funen and Zeeland in the Great Belt, without knowing how long they would have to stay there and without the possibility of getting out. Sexual promiscuity and lack of morals were a common reason for women being placed in Sprogø, but even women who scored low on intelligence tests could end up there.

The man behind this institution, physician Christian Keller, wanted a private, isolated institution Women who were deemed to have a “dangerous personality” would not be able to escape. Sterilization has become an essential part of treatment, which will prevent further burden on society. Women were taught housework, agriculture, and gardening. Punishments occurred in the form of isolation and restraint.

Many women had to remain on the island for several years before being released “free,” but more commonly they were placed in another institution, released into supervised family care or received other supervision.

Through the current film “The Unruly,” creator Malu Reiman wants to pay tribute to these women:

-Girls and women who are flirtatious, strong-willed, stubborn, angry, aggressive, funny, boisterous, and otherwise falling short of the ideal of passive femininity could risk being diagnosed as “morally retarded” and sent to Sproggo Island. Not just for a year or two, but indefinitely.

One of the women who inspired the film by Malu Ryman is 93-year-old Caroline Olsen, who is set in Sprogø in the early 1950s. She was one of the women who were forcibly sterilized, and she previously told the Danish channel TV2 Fyn: “They took the most important part of my body.” After her release from Sprogo, she met Sven from Sweden, and they married. Move to Skåne.

“De ostyrigiga” will premiere on September 15. The distributor is Folkets Dynamic.

Medical Journal 38/2023

Lakartidningen.se 2023-09-19