Alexis Smith announced on stage that her abuser was in the audience.
Miss Kansas revealed at a beauty pageant that her abuser was in the auditorium.
Alexis Smith made the revelation on stage.
"Some of you out in this audience saw me very emotional because my abuser is here today. But that's not going to stop me from being on this Miss Kansas stage," Smith said.
She won the contest and will represent the state of Kansas in next year's Miss America pageant.
Smith did not identify the person in the audience she says abused her.
The newly-crowned Miss Kansas has been receiving words of support for her remarks.
Smith, an ICU nurse, later wrote about the on-stage revelation.
"My journey took an unexpected turn when someone I have been healing from tried to disrupt my peace," Smith said on social media. "I took back my power."
Smith also said, "Every single woman in my family was impacted by domestic violence."
Statistics show at least one in three woman have experiences rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime.
Contests in the Miss America program have a platform or cause they champion. Smith's platform is combating domestic abuse.
