From January 1st, it will be mandatory in all schools: sanitary pads in toilets are available free of charge to every Czech student

• The Czech Ministry of Health is introducing an obligation to equip school toilets with menstrual hygiene products from 2026.
• The decision aims to eliminate the shame and inconvenience associated with menstruation among female students.
• The Czech Republic has one of the highest VAT rates on menstrual products in the EU, at 21%.

The Czech Ministry of Health announced on Friday that all schools must provide sanitary products in women's restrooms from January 1, 2026. Health Minister Vlastimil Valek announced the new regulation during a press conference.

"Menstruation is not a choice, but a natural part of life, and no student should go home, improvise with toilet paper, or be ashamed to ask for help because of it," the head of the Ministry of Health told reporters.

According to the new regulations , all toilets used by female students over the age of nine must be equipped with these amenities . Minister Valek noted that although menstruation most often occurs between the ages of 11 and 12, the age of nine was introduced so that schools could not overlook toilets designated for younger girls when providing sanitary products.

The Novinky.cz portal points out that, according to experts, free sanitary pads are used not only by girls from families in a difficult social situation, but also by those whose periods come unexpectedly or who do not have spare sanitary products.

In its January 2019 resolution on gender equality and tax policy, the European Parliament stated that period poverty remains an unresolved problem in the EU, with estimates showing that one in ten girls cannot afford to buy sanitary products.

The Czech Republic has one of the highest VAT rates on menstrual products in the European Union , at 21 percent. This generates annual revenues for the state budget of between CZK 150 and CZK 300 million (PLN 26-52 million). In the EU, only Hungary (27 percent) has a higher VAT rate on menstrual hygiene products. In Poland, hygiene products are subject to a 5 percent value-added tax.

Copyrighted material - reprint rules are specified in the regulations .