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Recognising Jesus as a victim of sexual abuse — in accordance with the theory of a University of Otago theologian — could have major benefits when it come to how society perceives survivors, the head of a support group says.

Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Aotearoa Otago branch manager Dugal Armour said the theory, espoused by Prof David Tombs, emphasised sexual abuse had gone on "for millennia".

"It’s taken until now to be publicly recognised."

Prof Tombs, director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues and the Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, has said Jesus being stripped three times ahead of the crucifixion was sexual abuse, and a form of ‘‘orchestrated’’ humiliation the Romans used against their enemies.

Mr Armour, whose group helps 40 people in the Otago area, said there was a lot of denial within the church about sexual abuse. He believed Prof Tomb’s work was valuable.

"From what I’ve read, it is a really valid conversation [to be having]," Mr Armour said.

While all forms of sexual abuse were accepted against women, he said, when it came to men there was still the perception the assault had to be violent, and hopefully Prof Tombs’ work might be able to combat that.

He had discussed Prof Tombs’ theory with male survivors of abuse, and said it was "quite widely accepted" by the people he had spoken to.

"It’s not something that is widely considered or put out as a conversation."

The idea was a "great opportunity" to engage more people in the debate, Mr Armour said.

The group had recently started to run a faith-based group, to fill the vacuum left by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse.

Sexuality was about a person’s ‘"unique essence as a human being".

"That was the impact of being publicly humiliated, stripping away that sense of belonging, of them being human."

Mr Armour said in all survivors who had chosen to heal, there was a "spiritual awareness".

"Being reborn in this body, in this lifetime, that’s very much about what this process is."