AXA | Safe Spaces

As part of their We Care campaign, AXA set out to create Safe Spaces, a world-first training tool to help organisations everywhere build safer, more supportive workplaces for employees affected by domestic and sexual violence.

Omni has developed a deep understanding of how to use drama to tell powerful, authentic stories about these issues – creating award-winning films and training resources for public, private and third-sector organisations.

Domestic and sexual violence impacts people of all genders, cultures and background worldwide. Globally, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men experience domestic or sexual violence in their lifetime. For many of those affected the workplace provides a Safe Space.

With 2.3 million people experiencing domestic violence and abuse in the UK each year, the workplace often represents the only safe space outside the home. Due to the nature of coercive control, for many victim-survivors, colleagues and managers may be the only people they interact with daily, putting workplaces in a unique position to recognise the signs of abuse and provide vital support.

Domestic and sexual violence (D&SV) has a profound impact on the workplace, costing the economy in England and Wales alone an estimated £14 billion in lost output each year. Research shows that 3.6% of people who experienced DVA lost their jobs as a result, while more than one in ten needed time off work – often for weeks or even months. The risks of job loss were similar across all forms of abuse, yet many victim-survivors reported feeling unable to disclose their experiences to managers, highlighting the urgent need for safer, more supportive workplace environments.

Recognising that authentic storytelling has the power to change hearts and minds, Omni partnered with AXA to develop scripted film content that placed victim-survivor experiences at the centre of the training.

Each story was informed by lived experience and expert testimonials, then paired with carefully designed Q&As to help colleagues understand how abuse affects people around them and how to foster a more supportive workplace.

Working closely with AXA and partnering with leading charities specialising in domestic, sexual, and financial abuse – we ensured every scenario was accurate, respectful and relatable in a workplace setting.

The result was a multilingual website called Safe Spaces hosting a suite of emotionally engaging training films – clear, practical, and anchored in the 3R methodology to help drive real-world behaviour change:

• Recognise the signs of domestic and sexual violence
• Respond with empathy
• Refer colleagues to local support and resources worldwide

The R&D phase proved vital in our understanding of the subject in the context of the workplace, and how we can move our audience from being uninitiated to empathic, informed and empowered.

Omni worked with domestic abuse experts and charities to explore each unique theme of abuse and identify the most accurate and relevant stories. Their insight provided crucial context, helping us understand the characters’ behaviours and experiences within the wider reality of abusive relationships. This vital information would be carried over into the character development, story outlines, final scripts and ultimately the cast performances. Alongside this, Omni planned the project framework, identified audience profiles and developed user journeys that would ensure an effective training experience.

Omni brought these stories to life through four short, scripted dramas – each capturing a defining moment that reveals the reality of a different form of abuse. Set within familiar workplace contexts, the films were designed to build empathy, raise awareness, and encourage reflection. Developed in close collaboration with D&SV survivors and experts, each story was handled with care to ensure authenticity, accuracy, and respect to those affected.

Following each drama, Omni produced a series of supporting talking head interviews featuring insights from survivors and subject-matter experts. These films provide a deeper understanding and practical guidance for anyone seeking to take the next steps in supporting others or themselves.

To reach a truly global audience, Omni designed and built the Safe Spaces platform as a multilingual home for AXA’s films, training, and resources. The site serves as both a learning hub and a signposting space, connecting users to specialist support services through the NO MORE Foundation’s Global Directory, a pioneering network addressing domestic and sexual violence worldwide.

Created as an intuitive, accessible, and secure experience, the platform balances emotional sensitivity with technical precision. Each film was optimised for playback across varied network speeds and subtitled in twelve languages, starting with English and French.

Behind its simplicity sits robust technical architecture: adaptive streaming, secure hosting, penetration-tested protection, and scalability for future growth. Designed to meet AXA’s global standards, the platform delivers an effortless user experience that is as strong in performance as it is in purpose.

To ensure we had a comprehensive library of assets for use across web, print, and press, Omni commissioned an on-set photographer to work alongside the DOP, capturing high-resolution imagery that both re-created key scenes and produced striking portraits of the cast. Throughout production, Omni also captured campaign portrait photography, both in character and in a more documentary style, to reflect the emotional depth and authenticity at the heart of the stories being told.

These portraits were featured across launch materials, press coverage, and wider campaign assets. Behind the scenes, video and still photography documented each key shoot day, offering an intimate glimpse into the making of Safe Spaces and the people who brought it to life.

Alongside the campaign trailer, Omni’s in-house design team developed a comprehensive suite of resources in 11 languages to help organisations who are committed to the project, to better promote and share the Safe Spaces training internally at every level.

Internal resources included:

• Safe Spaces Marketing Presentation
• Printable signage (A3 and A4)
• Awareness-raising email templates

To support external communication and demonstrate a visible commitment to Safe Spaces, Omni also produced a range of assets to help businesses champion the initiative publicly.

External resources included:

• Social media cards (in multiple formats)
• Customisable social media templates
• Safe Spaces FAQs

For organisations with their own LMS training platforms, Omni packaged all project assets into an easy-to-integrate format, enabling internal teams to track engagement and completion rates. The comprehensive Q&As, developed in collaboration with Dr Alison Gregory, a specialist in domestic and sexual violence and abuse, provide the training with a clear, evidence-based structure.

Alongside AXA, HR leaders from leading companies such as L’Oréal, Orange, ENGIE, Accor, LVMH, and Publicis are already driving this movement and rolling out the program within their organizations.

To ensure global accessibility, the Safe Spaces platform launched in English, French, and German, with nine additional languages to follow – reflecting AXA’s commitment to supporting employees and partners worldwide.

Omni’s approach to Safe Spaces has been genuinely altruistic. This is not a commercial venture: no income will be generated, and no organisation will be charged to access it. Instead, AXA has fully funded the creation of the platform, films, and training materials with the goal of gifting them to businesses everywhere.

By investing in Safe Spaces, AXA is empowering organisations of all sizes and sectors to build safer, more supportive workplaces for anyone affected by domestic or sexual violence. The initiative will officially launch at the International Women’s Forum in Paris in November 2025, marking the beginning of a global movement for safer, more caring workplaces.

In line with Omni Productions’ carbon-neutral policy, all travel associated with the Safe Spaces project was measured and offset through 9Trees CIC, a UK non-profit that plants and protects native woodland habitats across the country.

A total of 1.31 tonnes of CO₂e generated from production travel was fully offset with a £783.00 donation to 9Trees enabling them to grow Omni’s micro forest in Llandeilo in Wales – supporting biodiversity and the restoration of natural woodland.

Omni creates impactful training films and digital platforms that emotionally engage, inform, and empower audiences around ESG issues driving meaningful behaviour change.

Omni – Film & Digital Made to Matter.