The letter by All Women's Action Society (Awam) president Judith Loh-Koh entitled Break association between masculinity, violence is akin to flogging a dead horse.

It has long been called for that the symptoms rather than the cause of why rape happens be looked into. A culture drowned in violence is one of the many factors that consistently aggravates violence, particularly violence against women.

The points raised by Loh-Koh in her letter - while relevant - are not going to make a dent in the current situation afflicting women at hand. Awam could do better by aggressively championing the safety of women to the point of becoming an 'irritant' to the authorities.

Merely penning down thoughts is not going to save another girl or woman from being raped. Having read about the many rape cases of late, it certainly seems that a more drastic call has to be applied in order to pressure the government to buck up.

Sending out reminders that boys and men be taught new ways of being masculine that do not assert violence and the subjugation of women sounds good on paper. Having made this call, Awam should take the lead through its 'protege', the Men's Action Network against Violence (Man.V) to take this message to the grassroots level.

The all-male members of Man.V must reflect Awam's commitment in tackling the issue of violence against women in all seriousness. When it comes to changing the mindset of boys and men, Man.V could take the lead and live up to what Loh-Koh has said about teaching boys and men that being macho has nothing to do with exerting violence, one way or another.