Rebuttal to the "Grow some balls" solution to bullying

This isn't really a blog post, per say, it's a rebuttal to an ill-reasoned argument that the anti-bullying campaigns have had almost no effect on teen suicide rates over the last 30 years.

Using Canadian statistics, from 1980 to 2008, the rate of male child and teen suicides (10-19) decreased yearly from a high of 249 in 1980 to 156 in 2008. That's almost 100 less dead boys. Even after factoring in differences in birthrates, this is still a significant win. Unfortunately, girls are seeing the opposite. In 1980, 50 female children and teens (10-19) committed suicide. Those numbers have increased yearly with 77 dead girls in 2008. *

When it comes to teen suicide, things are not "pretty much exactly the same" as they were 30 years ago. Statistically, there are significantly fewer dead boys and significantly more dead girls.

Now I'm not going to strictly attribute the decrease in boys to all of them watching Karate Kid and becoming martial arts masters, the beat the bully fantasy, any more than I would attribute it strictly to anti-bullying campaigns. Complex social issues, like suicide, are rarely ever pared down to one cause, unfortunately.

For the decrease in boys, it could be a lot of things. Better mental health diagnoses and treatment, greater acceptance of homosexuality, stronger emphasis on open communication. Hell, it's a lot less socially acceptable to get drunk and beat your kids and spouse than it was 30 years ago too, so lives at home may be better.

As for the increase in the girls, we need to find out why we have more dead girls. Period. Fobbing off the issue with a bullshit "grow some balls" attitude ain't the way to solve it. Rehtaeh Parsons was a teen who killed herself last year after being bullied relentlessly by boys who allegedly sexually assaulted her earlier at a house party. Using your two proffered solutions for bullying, Parson's could have A) severely beaten those (much bigger and stronger) boys, or, B) become their BFFs.

Now ask yourself this, if you were Parson's dad, which of your two options would you tell her to use?

* Suicide among children and adolescents in Canada: trends and sex differences, 1980-2008.  http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/04/02/cmaj.111867.full.pdf+html