Horton Women's Holiday Centre

Providing affordable holidays for women and children since 1980

Policies of The Women’s Holiday Centre

The centre offers a welcoming space for women and children to take a break—alone, with friends, family, or as part of a group. Closed house bookings are available for large groups, making it ideal for informal retreats, workshops, training, or short courses. All guests are expected to respect others’ lifestyles, and any inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. Centre policies are clearly displayed on-site and online, and feedback on these is welcome via our Management Committee.

Why is the centre women and children only?

The Women’s Holiday Centre (herein “WHC”) exists to empower women and girls by providing a women-only space that fosters confidence, independence, and self-esteem. It helps combat marginalisation, exclusion, and isolation, allowing women to connect through shared experiences. Role models and peer support encourage positive change. The centre also recognises the unique challenges faced by women affected by racism, homophobia, disablism, poverty, and more, offering closed house options to support self-determination and community building among specific groups.

Policies

RACISM / XENOPHOBIA AND ANTI-SEMITISM

The WHC recognised that the U.K. is a multi-racial society and believes that cultural diversity positively enriches our society. We recognise that black women and women from other ethnic minority groups suffer daily the effects of racism in our society. We also recognise that Jewish women suffer the effects of anti-Semitism.

  • We support the struggle to redress the power imbalance.
  • We will give our active support to women who suffer racial discrimination and harassment.
  • We aim to ensure that the service we provide is relevant and accessible to all women.

To this end the WHC will ensure that active measures are taken to:

  1. Combat racism within the organisation.
  2. Challenge institutionalised and individual racism when encountered in other organisations or trades.
  3. To support black and ethnic minority organisations with aims and objectives similar to those of the WHC.

HOMOPHOBIA

Anti-lesbian, anti-bisexual or anti-gay remarks will not be tolerated. We recognise that these minority groups suffer the effects of homophobia daily, that heterosexuals have more power in our society and we aim to fight this oppression. The W.H.C. is committed to providing a service that is:

  • Providing information about lesbian/bisexual events and issues.
  • Sensitive to the needs of lesbian / bisexual women.
  • Actively challenging prejudice.

GENDER IDENTITY

Because of our communal accommodation, we only offer our services to women born female and raised as female. One of our fundamental aims is to provide a service that allows women to share and address the impact of growing up as girls and of being female, and that provides a sense of respite/refuge from their experiences of male power and misogyny.

We recognise that transgender people also face oppression, discrimination and often violence due to their transgender identity, and that gender inequality, roles and stereotypes are a shared root of the oppression of women and of transgender people.

We are committed to having links with organisations providing a safe space for transgender people to share and address these experiences, and providing information on such organisations. We are also committed to subjecting this policy to regular review. You can contribute to the shaping of this policy by giving your views via: management@hortonwhc.org.uk

We are committed to challenging any discriminatory remarks or behaviour on the basis of transgender identity, and we stand in solidarity with all women and transgender people when they experience gender-based oppression.

DISABILITY

The WHC recognise the discrimination that disabled women face on a daily basis. The WHC will not discriminate against women with physical disabilities or with mental health issues. The WHC is committed to making its services fully accessible. We will endeavour to do this by:

  1. Supporting events for disabled women.
  2. Working towards making the building fully accessible.
  3. Encouraging feedback about smaller changes that will improve accessibility.
  4. Actively challenging discriminatory remarks.

CLASS

The WHC has a commitment to challenge working class oppression, recognising that people from working class backgrounds are limited in terms of life chances, employment and service provision. We will endeavour to challenge this oppression by ensuring that:

  1. The WHC and its services are accessible to working class women.
  2. The workers and management collective represent working class women and that it is not tokenistic.

SEX DISCRIMINATION

The WHC recognise that women are discriminated against purely on grounds of gender and the WHC is committed to countering discrimination against women in all its forms. We are committed to providing a safe women only space and to this end we will:

  1. Challenge sexism when encountered whilst working with other trades.
  2. Publicise women centred events and information.
  3. Promote positive images of women.

NON-VIOLENCE

Violence or threatening behaviour towards women or children will not be tolerated. Anyone behaving in a violent or aggressive manner will be asked to leave the centre. The WHC consider the following activities to be dangerous and harmful to women:

  1. The use of hard drugs
  2. Militarism
  3. The sex industry

PARENTAL STATUS AND OLDER BOYS

The WHC will endeavour to take pregnancy and childcare responsibilities into account where possible, in its employment and services. To this end we will:

  1. Provide a safe space for children.
  2. Allow boys at any time up to their 11th birthday
  3. Older boys, up to their 15th birthday, can stay a maximum of four weeks a year at the workers’ discretion.
  4. Closed groups can bring older boys at the workers’ discretion.

DRESS

No woman should be made to feel unwelcome or discriminated against because of what she is wearing. However, if a woman’s clothes or behaviour oppresses or confronts other women, she may be challenged and asked to leave.

AGE

The WHC recognises that women of different ages have different needs and we are committed to sensitively addressing these issues. We are committed to countering discrimination on the basis of age in all aspects of our work. Recognising the fact that older and younger women face particular disadvantages in society we aim to cater for their needs.

RELIGION

The WHC will not discriminate against any woman on the basis of their religious beliefs and will endeavour to provide a service, which is sensitive to those beliefs and practices. However, where cultural practices or religious beliefs conflict with the WHC Equal Opportunities Policy, the policy will prevail.

HIV STATUS

The WHC is committed to actively challenge prejudice about HIV infection. The WHC will not discriminate in terms of service provision or employment on the grounds of HIV status and will not require that staff or visitors disclose their HIV status..

MEAT FREE

The garden and house are both meat free.

PARTY / NOISE

No amplified music should be played outside at all, and no outside music or other noise nuisance after 11pm.

Amplified music can be played indoors after 11pm by prior arrangement with workers only. Cut-off time to be agreed in advance, and the worker’s decision is final.

SMOKING

No smoking is allowed in the house at any time. This includes the use of e-cigs/vaping etc.

DOGS

No dogs are allowed on the WHC premises except for trained assistance dogs with an Assistance dogs (UK) branded ID book or equivalent.

CHILD PROTECTION

It is the policy of the WHC to safeguard the welfare of children by taking all reasonable steps to protect them from physical, sexual and emotional harm.

The WHC child protection policy is available on request.

We have a designated person to assist workers in issues around Child Protection, who will be contacted by workers if a situation arises.