The Australian government is providing $6 million grants to governments and non-government organisations to help prevent and respond to violence against women.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop announced on Thursday that the funding will be coursed through the United Nations Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence Against Women over the next three years.

Violence against women has a profound and devastating impact on women, their families and communities, Bishop says.

Globally, it is reported that more than one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way, most often by someone she knows, including her husband or another male family member. Violence against women is estimated to cost the global economy $13.6 trillion annually.

“Australia’s message on International Day for Ending Violence against Women is clear – violence against women and girls is unacceptable anywhere, anytime and in whatever form it takes. Living free of violence and from the fear of violence is a basic human right for women and girls,” Bishop says.

She adds that responding to sexual and gender based violence has also been a key component of the Australian government’s response to the humanitarian crises in Syria and Iraq.

The country recently provided $7 million to support access to shelter and expanded case management services, training for healthcare staff and the delivery of medical assistance in Syria.

Within Australia, the government also has taken a series of initiatives to reduce the number of domestic abuse cases. Earlier in November, Australian states and territories agreed to legally recognise intervention orders from all jurisdictions in the country when a victim or survivor crosses borders.

In September, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced a multimillion domestic violence scheme to put a halt to domestic violence.

The multimillion-dollar scheme is an addition to the existing investment of $100 million by the Australian government to reducing crimes against women and children. It is also a supplement to the $30 million national campaign to stop violence funded jointly by states and territories across Australia.

On Thursday, the Turnbull government released a new study that shows Australians tend to express high levels of victim-blaming attitude about cases of girls and young women who experience disrespectful and aggressive behaviour from men. Turnbull describes the findings to be showing “a disturbing picture” that people ignore the violent behaviour of males and blame the victim.

The study also says that despite strong community support to end violence against women, victim blaming in Australia is “firmly entrenched” in the attitudes of many adults and children, which might also promote the behaviour against women.

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