Starting a global movement against victim-blaming, slut-shaming and sexual profiling on behalf of women’s rights is no small feat, but for queer and body-positivist feminist Heather Jarvis, it’s imperative.

Jarvis is the co-founder of SlutWalk, which began in early 2011 in Toronto to combat stereotypes around sexual assault after a Toronto police officer said women should "avoid dressing like sluts" to avoid getting raped.

"I think unfortunately society still teaches us how not to get raped instead of how not to rape," Jarvis says on the topic,  adding, "unfortunately it’s still about what to wear, what not to wear, how to act, how not to act to avoid getting assaulted."

Since the 3,000 person march in Toronto last April, the movement has spread across the globe, including right here in Calgary, and has reached as far as London and Brazil, who are among 200 other countries who hosted the protest.

"I think somehow our message just really resonated with people. It was just supposed to be a one-time thing but it really resonated with people across the world," she says. "I think it’s inspiring and encouraging but at the same time sad and disappointing that this kind of thing still resonates with people."

Now, Jarvis and her SlutWalk co-founder Sonya Barnett will be speaking at an upcoming TEDxToronto conference later this month. TEDxToronto is one of many satellite versions of TED (an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, Design), and pits speakers in front of 1,000 audience members and upwards of 30,000 live-streaming viewers during an 18-minute speech on the topic of the event.

Jarvis says she is looking forward to connecting with over two dozen other like-minded individuals on speaking about the topic of Alchemy and how single ideas and stories can combine to create something much larger. And with chants of "one, two, three, four, we won’t take it anymore. Five, six, seven, eight, stop the violence, stop the hate" heard at last year’s SlutWalk in Toronto, who better than Jarvis to ignite the conversation.

"I think that’s the point of these talks, where you get a really broad overview of topics and connect together," Jarvis says.

At their talk, Ms. Barnett and co-founder Heather Jarvis plan to discuss the power of language in society and why words have so much meaning.

"We’re calling bullshit on that theory that words don’t hurt.  We need to challenge that and look at the power of words and why that is. Words like slut, whore, and homophobic language, these words do mean something."

Jarvis, who loves public speaking and does it as much as possible, says TED talks bring together genuine and compassionate people to have what is sometimes a difficult conversation in an effort to move forward together.

"That’s my optimistic goal, and I hope it brings people together and they will be kinder to each other and have less violence in the world."

And for those in Calgary, Jarvis says anyone can make a difference, anywhere in the world.

"Generally, a lot of people can make a lot of difference; they just don’t think they can. There are so many ways to get involved and if you have an idea, touch base with the people in your community and you can make it happen. Working together and involving the community is important."