Abstract Fortaleza (Ceará), like several Brazilian cities, went through an increasing period in homicide rates. One of the explanations is the so-called "faction war". From the qualitative research, it is identified that urban armed violence causes profound impacts in peripheral communities, with the establishment of invisible borders and urban displaced persons. The research seeks to problematize, in the context of the Conjunto Novo Perimetral community, in the outskirts of Fortaleza, the limits and normative possibilities in the treatment of the theme.