diff --git a/gio/gsettingsschema.c b/gio/gsettingsschema.c
index d904bf7..6239aea 100644
--- a/gio/gsettingsschema.c
+++ b/gio/gsettingsschema.c
@@ -122,7 +122,13 @@ ensure_schema_lists (void)
         {
           list = gvdb_table_list (source->data, "");
 
-          g_assert (list != NULL);
+          if (list == NULL)
+            {
+              g_warning ("Empty gschemas.compiled file found in a schema "
+                         "directory. This may be caused by a bug in "
+                         "glib-compile-schemas.");
+              continue;
+            }
 
           for (i = 0; list[i]; i++)
             {
