In evaluating whether I believe a statement that factor does not play a role in my assessment (no matter how you try to make it matter). It is ironic that you are focusing on Juanita Broaddrick to suggest that her sworn statement in connection with Clinton should be believed. Wasn't it Bill Clinton who swore, under oath, that he did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky? Being under oath certainly did not deter him from lying.
To the extent anyone makes inconsistent statements obviously one is true and the other not (or one is incomplete, and the other complete - or more complete). I'm going to evaluate the statements on their merit, considering all the evidence, not on whether they were sworn or not.
How do you know Juanita Broaddrick or Tara Reade hasn't suffered by coming forward? You don't have to be hounded into hiding and require security guards to pay a significant price for publicly coming forward - and not every person who suffers as a result of making an accusation of rape or sexual assault shares that impact on their life with the public. Tara Reade is certainly being tarred and feathered on DU (as is anyone who says anything other than that she's a flat out liar), and I've seen a fair amount of if elsewhere too.
I spent a decade of my life helping victims of rape become survivors - I don't know any whose lives weren't upended if they chose to make their accusation of rape pubic. And the impact on their lives was pretty much directly proportional to the importance of/potential impact on the man accused.
FWIW, Blasey Ford's life was turned upside down - not by testifying under oath, but by publicly making the accusation. And the way you describe it makes my point for me:
if you claim something to be true, and you know telling the truth might upend your life but you value telling the truth over the inevitable fallout, more likely than not you are sincere in what you say is true.
That has nothing to do with whether you are telling the truth under oath, or are simply telling the truth period. It has to do with whether you value the truth. If you do, you will tell the truth regardless of whether you re under oath. If you do not, you won't. No oath in the world can make you value the truth if you don't inherently value it.
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