Two by Twos: Kiwis who left sect being probed by FBI form support group

New Zealand leavers of a secretive sect the FBI is investigating for historical child sexual abuse have formed the first support network for former members in this country.

They said recent publicity has helped lift the lid on the high-control religious group that has no official name or church buildings - weekly meetings are held in members' homes.

The group has many markers of a cult and is known to those who leave as the Two by Twos or The Truth.

Tristan Phipps grew up in the sect and left as a young adult more than a decade ago because he didn't believe in its teaching - including that people outside the group go to hell.

"Things just don't start to match up, you feel very lost and you get to a point where it sounds like a load of rubbish. It's very complex but also very simple at the same time."

It was a lonely time because so few people knew about the group or understood his experience.

He has helped establish the support network for leavers and says there are already 100 people connected online.

"We've all been affected in some way and scarred in some way. It's more powerful when more of you recognise it together," he said.

"There's people out there that have been floundering for a long time which is really sad."

Phipps said until now, former members of the cult here have joined online groups based overseas.

Last year police separately arrested two men who were members of the sect, for historical child sexual abuse - one pleaded guilty and was sentenced, the other denied the charges and next appears in court in a fortnight.

Phipps said many former members of the sect have experienced religious, physical or sexual abuse and the focus of the leavers group is friendship and support.

"It's quite a specific area in that it's very hard to understand unless you've been part of it," he said.

"For those of us who've left we're our best resource. We might not think we know much but we actually know a lot and we can help each other."

Decades on support still effective

Academic and GP Kyle Eggleton is a member of the support group.

He was born into the Two by Twos but left in his mid-20s when he decided the teaching and rules didn't stack up - that was 26 years ago.

"I didn't have any support so it was a bit of a lonely journey. I spent quite some time trying to figure out who I was and what my belief systems were and trying to navigate that all by myself."

Eggleton still has family in the group and when he left he felt supported, not shunned or ostracised.

He said even decades on, he is benefiting from being part of a community of people who understand his upbringing in the cult.

"I think it's really important to help people make sense of their experience and realise they're not alone, that they have commonality with others who have left."

Eggleton said it was only recently he found out a friend of his family in the Two by Twos, who had died, had been an abuser.

"That's something that makes me angry and upset, knowing that that experience is prevalent in our survivor community."

He wants to formally research the mental health and wellbeing effects of being part of the cult, and what helps people thrive when they leave.

"A lot of people have a trauma experience being part of this group.

"Trying to articulate to someone that you were brought up in this group that has no name and you can't really identify the group and there's no literature around them...makes it difficult trying to explain that to other people."

Peer support crucial

Author, reporter and cult researcher Anke Richter was convenor, director and organiser of Australasia's first cult awareness conference, Decult, held in Christchurch last year.

She said it became clear at the conference that peer support for those leaving cults was crucial because it was such a unique experience.

"People need to connect and be with each other and share their stories. You can do that online of course but there's something about being in the same room together, maybe handing someone tissues when they cry, being with others who understand."

Richter said Decult was in the early stages of setting up groups where people leaving any cult could meet for support and friendship.