The state's top female police officer, deputy commissioner Wendy Steendam, has issued a stern warning to Victoria's male-dominated force, saying it should heed the lessons of the Eddie McGuire scandal.

In a strongly worded internal memo written on Wednesday, Ms Steendam said the McGuire controversy made her think about Victoria police's own culture - "the parallels with our own organisation when it comes to the impact and harm words and inappropriate behaviour can have on others".

"Given our own challenges," she wrote, "some within our organisation won't see a problem with the [McGuire] comments."

"So let's be very clear. Here we have an example of where humiliation and a lack of respect are played out in public. Where a group of men laughing about drowning a female colleague, along with other name calling, is somehow framed as a 'joke'!"

Ms Steendam was appointed to the second tier of police command last year after 30 years with the force. She is one of four deputy commissioners - and the only woman - reporting to chief commissioner Graham Ashton.

She wrote the internal memo to all the state's police about McGuire's verbal, public attack on The Age's chief football writer Caroline Wilson in which he goaded fellow Triple M Footy broadcasters into an exchange about drowning her in an ice-bath. Her also called her a "black widow."

McGuire's North Melbourne counterpart James Brayshaw and former Richmond coach Danny Frawley readily chimed in, with the latter offering to make sure Wilson didn't come up.

"If you haven't listened to the comments then I suggest you do so," Ms Steendam wrote.

The deputy commissioner referred to a Victoria Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) review into Victoria Police last year, which found both a high number of and a high tolerance for sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as sexual discrimination and gender inequality.

The damning review concluded female police officers – as well as gay and lesbian employees – work in an entrenched culture of sexual harassment and discrimination. It found many of those harassed or discriminated against suffered mental and physical health problems as a result.

Ms Steendam said McGuire's initial apologies - "this was just a bit of fun, we didn't intend any harm, it was only a joke" - were not sincere enough.

She inferred the attitude among police might be that "they were only words", or that the reaction to McGuire's outburst was too politically correct.

"I can tell you that they are not just words and it's not to be taken lightly. If we allow a permissive environment to exist, then people will continue to be demeaning to women," she wrote.

"It is the normalisation of this kind of language that makes us much more accepting of violence, inappropriate behaviour and gender inequality.

"It's 2016 and we all have a right to be treated with dignity and respect and to feel safe in our workplace and in our community."

Ms Steendam's memo was issued not long before McGuire and Wilson met and made peace over the derogatory on-air comments.

It is understood Wilson personally accepted McGuire's apology after the pair spoke at length. The location of their meeting remains a secret, but Wilson has now spoken personally to both McGuire and Frawley. She is yet to hear from Brayshaw, who has made a public apology.

Meanwhile, an "emotionally and physically flattened" McGuire asked to be removed from Fox Footy's coverage of Thursday night's match between Adelaide and North Melbourne.

Ms Steendam ended her memo with an undertaking that all officers impacted by workplace harm would be supported, before listing the following services.

Safe Space: 1300 364 522

Workplace Harm Hotline: 1800 598 846