Hannah McGuire's school friends and former teachers will come together to remember her at a memorial on Friday as the school vows to work with students and as part of a wider community push to help stamp out violence.
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Ms McGuire graduated from Ballarat High School in 2018 where a memorial gathering will be held at the school's Peacock Hall - a location where many have shared memories of her at key moments of their school lives.
An organiser of the memorial said it was a "surreal feeling" seeing Ms McGuire's pictures in the media knowing what had happened to their friend.
On Friday April 5, the body of Ms McGuire, 23, was found in the remains of a burnt-out car near State Forest Road in Scarsdale. Her ex-boyfriend Lachlan Young, 21, has been charged with the alleged murder and will re-appear in court in September.
"It has heightened everything for everyone," Ms McGuire's friend said.
The memorial will follow a public rally and march planned separately to take place from Ballarat Train Station at 5.30pm on Friday April 12 along Lydiard St to Camp Street.
"It's going to be a very big night with a different energy in town," they said.
Ballarat High School principal Stephan Fields agreed to hold the private memorial for Ms McGuire's classmates and teachers at the school "without hesitation".
"It's fitting for us to offer a place for those people who knew and loved her to grieve, but more importantly to remember her," he said.
"It's such a tragic loss of a young life and Ballarat High School needs to be there to offer support. This will send ripples right throughout the community and affects so many people who knew and loved her."
Mr Fields said the school and the education department were providing support to staff and students and moving forward the school would reach out to support Ms McGuire's family and the wider community.
"There's an immediate impact (this) will have had on people and how they perceive their own safety," he said.
"Moving beyond that, as a school we need to work with both male and female students in order to support them and educate them and make them feel safe.
"We know statistically, domestic violence and violence against women especially post COVID is not something that has dramatically decreased, and as educators and the heart of the community we need to be active in ensuring we address this as a wider issue for us as a community and state."
Earlier this week, Ballarat mayor Des Hudson and Womens Health Grampians chief Marianne Hendron united to call out violence against women and call for all community members to take a serious stand against gendered violence in Ballarat following the deaths of three women - Samantha Murphy, Rebecca Young and Hannah McGuire, since February.
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