Some carried flowers, others carried signs, but the thousands of people who marched through Melbourne in
memory of Jill Meagher had one thing in common - they were there to say 'no' to violence.
The first rally organised by Facebook last September to remember the murdered Brunswick woman and others like her attracted 30,000 people.
A year on, the community showed it was still deeply affected by the attack, turning out in force to walk the street where Miss Meagher was last seen.
Organiser Philip Werner was not surprised thousands marched on Sunday to honour victims of violence.
"I've called it a peace march and I believe people are here because they want to express the opposite sentiment to the things that led to the murder," he said.
He told AAP the march gave the many people touched by violence an opportunity to express themselves.
Before the march he read of a quote from Martin Luther King he said summarised its purpose, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that".
Lizzie Marks and 15 friends carried white flowers to show their opposition to all forms of violence.
They bought their sons and daughters to "make them aware".
Ms Marks, who lives in the nearby suburb of Northcote, said the threat of violence to woman - or anybody - walking the streets late at night was similar to drink driving.
"Years ago, everybody used to drink and drive," she said.
She believes raising awareness about that issue was what cut the toll, and the same will be true for violence.
Sasha Chambers carried a defiant sign.
"This is for the voiceless, we will love you always," it read.
Ms Chambers said she had decided to march because more needed to be done for the safety of the community.
Christian Vega, from sex worker organisation Vixen, was there to honour his friend Tracy Connelly who was found murdered in St Kilda earlier this year.
"On a policy level we should be doing so much more," Mr Vega said.
The murder of 29-year-old Ms Meagher as she walked home last year, sparked a successful push to change Victoria's parole laws.
Adrian Bayley, currently serving a life sentence for her murder, on Thursday had his application to appeal his sentence denied.
Victorian Premier Denis Napthine also made the short pilgrimage, saying he wanted Victorians to know he was "with them" on community safety.
"Enough is enough, we want a safer community," he said.
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