Seven guns were returned to users in Sussex last year who had previously had their licence revoked.
An investigation by the BBC had found across the country a quarter of licences returned between 2019 and 2021 went to people who had faced allegations of domestic abuse.
Women’s Aid says the figures show an ‘inexcusable tolerance’ of abusers.
Ms Nazeer for the charity said this needed to be investigated by police and the government, and called for an “automatic ban on returning gun licenses to those accused of domestic abuse”.
“Would society accept guns being put back in the hands of burglars? Of muggers? In cases of domestic abuse, more often than not, the perpetrator lives in the same residence as the survivor,” she said.
“Even if the perpetrator hasn’t ever used the gun against their partner, just possessing the weapon, its presence in the house, is a form of intimidation and control.”
41 of the 44 police forces in the UK that responded to a Freedom of Information request revealed 164 firearms licences were returned between 2019 and 2021.
Of those, 43 were given back to people who had been accused of domestic violence. It is not known how many were later found guilty of an offence.
Of the 164 returned licences, police forces say the individuals either did not meet the threshold for prosecution or if they were charged, the charges were later dropped.
Data from the Office for National Statistics for 2021 highlights that only 18% of domestic violence victims report what happened to police.
Last year, a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) into domestic abuse against women said police forces were not “giving the threat of violence the resources it deserved.”
A National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesman said: “Any individual who held a firearms licence, which was then revoked, would need to reapply for a new licence.
“Applicants should be fully aware that the reasons a licence was revoked are recorded, and are considered as part of any new application.
“The legal process for anyone seeking a new licence is explicitly defined, and domestic abuse is one of the most serious factors taken into consideration in assessing an application.”
The Metropolitan Police, the UKs largest force covering a population of about nine million people, returned 15 previously revoked gun licences in 2020/21.
It said six of these were returned because the licence holder successfully appealed their original decision to revoke in court.
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