SOME 14225 children were reported raped in the first 11 months of last year, according to police figures presented on Monday at a conference on crimes against children. Northern Province divisional commissioner of human resources, Neels Steenkamp, said at the Nylstroom conference that reported rapes of children have doubled since 1994, when 7559 cases were reported. In 1997 the figure was 14723 reports of children raped. Steenkamp told the conference that efforts against the sexual abuse of children have been boosted by using trained forensic social workers during the investigation of these crimes.