Miss New York Kira Kazantsev reacts as she is crowned as the winner of the 2015 Miss America Competition by Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri in Atlantic City, New Jersey September 14, 2014.
Miss New York Kira Kazantsev reacts as she is crowned as the winner of the 2015 Miss America Competition by Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri in Atlantic City, New Jersey September 14, 2014. New Yorker Kazantsev won the coveted 2015 Miss America Pageant crown on Sunday, a "three-peat" for contenders from the Big Apple. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Kira Kazantsev was crowned Miss America 2015 on Sunday night, when she beat the top five by wresting 30% of the score with her answer to an important question: What issue should women in the U.S. Senate press upon their male colleagues?

Her answer was firm and right on-the-dot: "I really believe that sexual assault in our military is an issue these women have got to fight for," she said. The issue is important to her as she is involved in an organization that raises awareness against domestic violence. What is surprising is that she has survived abuse, and recently supported Janay Rice for marrying and staying with former Baltimore Ravens member Ray Rice even though he had hit her in an Atlantic City casino elevator.

The issue of domestic violence is currently a viral issue. That is why it prompted a question to Miss Florida: "Why do some women, such as Janay Rice, decide to stay with their abusers?" Miss America judge Kathy Ireland on Sunday night posed the question. Her question seemed to explain why it was asked at all: "We were all rocked by the video of football star Ray Rice punching his wife Janay. She's standing by him. As a woman, what do you think of her decision?"

Rivetted by the issue of a question that should not have been asked, Kira Kazantsev, who herself was in an abusive relationship during college, agreed that she hadn't known that there were lifelines available for domestic violence victims. But even if she had been aware, she could not have found out, as she was in a "different mindset".

"You just feel alone. You feel helpless. You don't feel like anyone could possibly understand," she said, to NPR.

The question immediately brought a flurry of reactions from various media moguls. By putting Miss Florida in an acute "why/why not" position, the conversation was being pinned on Janay's actions, not Ray Rice's, everyone pointed out.

The Miss America winner, Kira Kazantsev (Miss New York), told NPR.org: "I want people to stop asking, 'Why doesn't she just leave?' Every woman is an expert in her own case, and there are so many extenuating circumstances that lead to a woman staying with her abuser."

One of three contestants with an anti-domestic violence platform, the new Miss America looked on as a Ray Rice-related question was asked of another contestant. Part of an abusive relationship in college, her goal is to raise awareness of domestic violence in hopes that more women realize there are safe and supportive options when in abusive situations.

The important point in Kira's case was not why she had an abusive past. But the fact that she has just got herself a successful future.