Charity Commission investigating Sex Matters following formal complaints

The Charity Commission has said it is investigating Sex Matters after one of its prominent members speculated that a human rights lawyer enjoyed being “b*******” as a child.

A spokesperson for the Government department, which ensures registered charities in the UK remain compliant with charity law, confirmed that an “ongoing case” into the ‘gender-critical’ non-profit was currently underway.

In December 2025, legal activist organisation the Good Law Project confirmed its founder Jolyon Maugham KC filed a formal complaint against Sex Matters after commentator Richard Dunstan remarked that he “secretly enjoyed” being sexually abused as a child.

Maugham KC, 54, said he had referred the remarks to the police, alleging that Mr Dunstan’s post, referencing that the British barrister was sexually abused when he was 16, was part of a “toxic and invasive” campaign against him.

A formal complaint against Sex Matters was then raised by the Good Law Project, informing the Charity Commission of its close ties to Mr Dunstan.

In a statement responding to the complaint, a spokesperson for the regulator wrote: “The issues you have raised have been passed to the Regulatory Compliance team to consider as part of our ongoing case into the charity.”

The spokesperson did not clarify what the investigation was in relation to, nor how long it would be taking place.

Sex Matters investigation is about data collection, spokesperson claims

According to Sex Matters, the “ongoing case” refers to a regulatory compliance investigation opened a year ago regarding complaints made over a post asking cisgender women to share their experiences of “men in women’s sports”.

Complaints specifically expressed concern over the organisation’s data collection practices, according to a spokesperson.

It claimed Mr Dunstan’s comments were not “in any way” linked to Sex Matters and that members “did not know about them until [Good Law Project] brought them to public attention”.

The ‘gender-critical’ advocacy group, co-founded in 2021 by Maya Forstater, Rebecca Bull, Naomi Cunningham and Emma Hilton, became a registered Charitable Incorporate Organisation in 2024.

LGBTQ+ and human rights campaigners widely deplored the Charity Commission’s decision, arguing the group was founded to exclude trans people from public life.

It intervened in the FWS v Scottish Ministers case in 2025, which set the precedent for a potential ban on trans people using their preferred toilets in public spaces.

PinkNews has contacted the Charity Commission for comment.